Wings
by Silver-coloured Ink
Summary: She is the light, he is the darkness. 1xR, a total fantasy. "From the start, I know that you are a person who soon is going to leave." - Chapter Eight : Barrier
1. Chapter One : Haunted

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N :** Just to make sure that you can catch my story well, I will state it now. I basically write this fanfic in third point of view, but I love flip-flopping the focus between the two main character : boy's POV (Heero) and girl's POV (Relena). Enjoy!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter One : Haunted_

~o~

**haunted** _adj_ **1** having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something [syn: obsessed, preoccupied, taken up(p)]. **2** inhabited by or as if by apparitions.

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**~She forgot, he remembered, yet they both missed something.~**

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**Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She was running in a place she never knew before. A place which had many shadows of various grey shades, moving and spinning around rapidly. She was a little bit lost in haze.

There was someone there. She knew it, she knew those countless glances and whispers. She could feel that presence. Again. Yet she never managed to remember where or when it began. She knew that person by heart, but in the same time she didn't know who that person was. It was irritating. As if you saw a glimpse of a face but when you started to feel you knew that person, the image faded away, leaving you desperately trying to remember who that person was.

So she was running. Running until it felt like floating, even flying. Quick changes from the light to the shadow were making her dizzy. But her eyes caught the one she wanted to see, and she was determined to catch up this time. It was almost too hard to keep herself focused, she just tried her best effort.

When she was near enough, it was getting clearer.

The image was still a blur, but her chest was filled with hope.

_Just… a little bit more…_

She stretched her hand, but the person suddenly stopped and turned toward her. It was too late to avoid collision, so she just closed her eyes tightly, waiting the hit to come.

But it didn't come.

Only a sensation of gas and liquid brushed pass her skin, and she opened her eyes in expectation. Her eyes widened when realization struck in. That person, who was formed as mist, was sprawled into thin air while he was passing through her. She felt her sense became dull, her surrounding slowly turned into darkness.

"WAIT!"

And when her eyes saw light again, she was on her bed, staring to her room's high ceiling. She sat on her bed, sighed. Closing her eyes, she could still feel that presence from her dream.

"…who are you?" she whispered to no one.

Bird chirping was heard from those huge windows at a side of her room, followed by little knocking sound on glass window. She recognized that sound, her face brightened happily. She got up from her bed, walking to the window. She opened the curtain, greeted by morning sun ray and of course… her friends' enthusiastic faces. She laughed merrily and opened the glass window. Some pairs of little blue birds came into her room, chirping around her.

"Well, hello my little friends…" she said with smile on her lips, "How are you today?"

Those birds perched on the window's grid, looking at her with their little chocolate eyes. She looked outside the window, seeing the golden sun and the clear blue sky, her garden below and some butterflies around the flowers.

"Another beautiful day, isn't it?" she commented, feeling relaxed.

The birds chirped as if agreeing, and she laughed once more.

"Okay," she turned around, "Let's just prepare for a full day forward!"

The birds followed her to the bathroom and waited while she was doing her daily morning routines. After she dressed up for the day, she combed her hair in front of a body-length mirror. Carefully, she tied her honey-blond hair up in the two little side braids, like usual. Turning around to face her little friends, who now perched on the wooden edge of her bed, she smiled widely.

"Here I am, what do you think?" she asked, opening her arms.

Some birds started chirping in panic, and some sounded as if they were laughing.

"Eh?" she turned again to the mirror, "Oops…"

Her pretty image was shown on the mirror : her sky blue eyes, her strands of honey-blond tumbled a little past her shoulder, her almost-pale complexion covered with her school uniform… and a pair of pure-white wings which sprouted from her back.

She closed her eyes, and the wings disappeared. She turned her back to the mirror, looking past her left shoulder, to make sure the wings was no longer visible. She stopped abruptly. Her gaze was locked to the mirror, an unclear image of a boy was shown there. That person again. He stood there, watching her from near window. Gasping in surprise, she immediately averted her eyes to the window, but no one was there. She turned to the mirror again, finding the image was also no longer there. The birds were chirping again, worried because of her crestfallen expression.

Then a knock came from the door.

"Relena, darling… are you ready?"

"Yes, Mother," she straightened up.

"Good. Just don't take too long to join us for breakfast. Your father has been waiting for his 'little girl' in the dining room."

She chuckled at that sentence.

"I'm coming."

Just before she closed her door, she whispered to his little blue friends.

"I'll bring you guys some delicious bread crumbs," she said with a wink.

Oddly, all the birds nodded with happy whistles.

-.-.-

It was getting dark.

Heero stared to the horizon, watching intensely as the sky changed its color. Extreme climate changes did occur here. During the day, thick orange cloud was all they could see as the sky. Limited eyesight caused by slightly poisonous yellow fog and very high temperature made sure only a very few creatures could be out. But the heat was falling fast as the dusk turned into the night, the temperature went below the freezing point.

Even though the day was always severe, it was no compare to the night. When total darkness had surrounded them, the real danger was awoken. Most of people had returned to shelters by now, leaving this whole night for wild beasts and monsters, raging thunders and ice needles rain… and the soldiers.

The night was always a nightmare.

Yet as usual, their training would begin.

It was necessary to prepare for the worst. After all, this place where they lived in was never safe or comfortable. He knew everyone always wished for a better place, a place with clear blue-green sky, gentle zephyr, completed with fertile forests and wide rivers… as old stories told them. He doubted it ever existed.

Nevertheless he felt like he saw it in a dream once, the prosperous land. Once in a while, if he spent long enough time staring to the sky, he would find a glimpse of light blue color. Borderless blue sky, pristine white clouds…

He blinked, and the dreamland returned to the normal, real world.

Anyway, old stories and dreams were both unreal. He couldn't understand why those old men were so taken with it, believing and waiting the time when their neat-planned operation could actually begin.

Until that time, soldiers needed to be trained.

Standing in the middle of cold wind, he put on his guard. He stared to the darkness, scream and howl and roar filled the air. He could smell blood, covering red ground of their land, reddened it if possible. Yes, tonight was definitely another ordinary night.

-.-.-

The huge brass bell on peak of the tower was clanging, indicating that it was three o'clock already. But such a loud ringing sound barely entered her foggy mind, as she stared absent-mindedly to her Victorian-style school's garden.

"_Who are you?"_

She knew she dazed off again, but she couldn't help it. She put down her tea cup slowly and drew a deep breath. Around her, her girlfriends were still keen on their little happy talk, oblivious to her daydreaming. She tried to make herself seemed interested… she didn't want to be improper in their tea time break.

But she simply couldn't let the image from her dream off her mind. It was not that the dream was terrifying or bad, she was just curious. Why she went after that person? Why that person seemed to avoid her? Now when she thought it over, the image was vague all the time. She could barely see anything, _then why she felt like she knew that person?_

The familiar feeling raised goose bumps down her shoulders and arms. Exactly like the one she felt when that person passed through her, just before she woke up from her dream. That person was whispering something at that time. Although she wasn't able to decipher what he had said, she memorized the voice. It was deep and calm, but distant in the same time, giving her a kind of longing feeling. She wasn't making any sense, was she? At least low tone of the voice had proved her supposition : the person was a guy. Not that it helped much – she still got no identity hint, but she was glad to address 'that person' as 'he' without wondering if it was the right pronoun or not.

"Miss Relena…?"

She blinked from her trance. With her mind elsewhere, she had just waved her hand to a group of boys on a table across hers, barely acknowledging their greeting. Sadly, she wasn't aware of their blushes.

"Yes?" she turned to one of her friends with a smile.

"We were just thinking to hold a party for you," the girl explained.

"A party?"

"For your birthday," another girl spoke up.

"And also to celebrate the award for Junior Leadership Achievement that you got today!" the other girl added cheerfully, making the rest of the group nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh."

"Is it not good?" concerned faces were shown as they presumed her short response as disapproval.

"No, I think it will be nice," she smiled, "Actually, my father have mentioned the similar thing this morning."

"The Vice Foreign Minister did?" their expressions were full of admiration in hearing 'her father' part.

"He is wondering if some of my friends can come to celebrate my birthday next week," all ladies' faces were brightened visually. "So… what do you think about a party at my home?"

"Awesome!"

They started whispering and commenting in excitement. And before the school was over, the whole school had been talking about 'Miss Relena Darlian's birthday party'. On the other hand, the famous girl was blaming a certain imaginary boy for making her almost forget about her own birthday.

-.-.-

He saw a body.

Penetrating the pitch-dark in front of him, his eyes captured some movements. He unsheathed his sword, the blackened blood which covered it hadn't dried yet. Taking a stance, he strode for quick attack. In two blows, the body in the midst of small monster cluster had been freed. None of the monsters could avoid his sword, all of them were killed.

He glanced to the body. It was corpse of a soldier, half-eaten by monsters. He wondered how many soldiers were still alive now.

Stinky odor was coming from every direction. He scented danger. Blood and carcass had apparently attracted more ferocious beasts.

He knew he had been surrounded.

Wave of attacks came in sudden. He dodged, his sword parried with claws and fangs. He moved in steps and jumps, relying on his agility as usual, stabbed furiously to any monsters left opened. A familiar sense of killing was running in his veins. The sense was so strong, he felt himself sinking.

Every time his instinct took over, his mind was all set to kill. His sword became one with his hand, feeling every flesh and muscles he pierced through. His clothing was soaked with blood as his nose became more sensitive to fragrance of mixed poison fog, monster's breath, and putrid taste of clot. His eyes automatically focused to the vital points, the best places to deliver lethal blow. He could even sense dying process of any living thing in agony. It was like he turned into blood-thirsty killer.

And it terrified him.

He fought to push that thought down, to restrain urging instinct of killing, while trying to fend off himself from continuous attacks around him. He didn't pay attention to faint vibration from underground. It was severe fault. The ground below his feet exploded as a giant earth-worm surfaced, its horrendous mouth targeted him. He was sent flying.

Realizing he was defenseless, smaller beasts took that chance to swarm him in mid air, trying to overwhelm him. Pain thrust through his mind, his heart pulse was increasing in panic. The giant earth-worm was waiting on the ground, ready to strike. He gnashed grimly, anger was rising inside him. He glared to the monsters, his eyes turned crimson red.

With a long howl, the monster crowd was shattered.

Still in the middle of the air, he threw his sword right to the giant earth-worm's muzzle, pinning its mouth to close. Roar filled the air when he spread his bat-resemble-wings and landed to the ground. Exactly to the core of countless monster cluster.

He spun around, fire flared up from his fist. Without his sword, he had to fight bare-handed. Well, not exactly, since his hands had been replaced by claws.

As much as he didn't want to use this inhuman form, as much as he didn't want to get lost in killing instinct, he had to fight.

His mission was to stay alive.

He wouldn't let himself fail.

-.-.-

This had become irritating.

By evening, she entered her house with her heart in disarray. She had spent one and half hours before dinner in her garden, strolling with her little "friends" as usual to enjoy the view of various flowers and wonderful sunset. It always soothed her uneasiness of bothering problems. At least until that time. It definitely wasn't working now, since her musing was only getting worse, causing those sweet little blue birds be concerned of her blank-state. She hoped they wouldn't tell all living thing within one kilometer range so she wouldn't have to deal with great number of solicitous animals in her bedroom tomorrow morning.

She couldn't understand. It was not like that was the first time she had such dream. But before, dreams never tagged after her so strongly. Perhaps that effect was caused by a more regular appearance of _him_ in her dreams.

Okay, not only in her dreams. Still, it was so embarrassing to admit her newest bad habit of daydreaming, not to mention about a boy. An imaginary boy it was, but she still preferred her parents knew nothing about her so-called 'dream boy'. Especially her father.

She was sure they would be more shocked than the time she befriended with birds.

So she stood in front of the dining room for a minute, taking a deep breath to regain her calm composure. And she opened the door.

Both her father and mother had occupied their seats, smiling softly to her direction. She smiled back and walked to her seat, which was positioned beside her father and in front of her mother. Pagan pulled the seat for her, and she mumbled a 'thank you' to the old butler. She sat down elegantly and directed her eyes to her father when he called her name.

"We have heard about your award today," Mr. Darlian spoke up.

"I was planning to tell you," she replied, eyeing Pagan suspiciously.

Pagan all but bowed slightly. "I will get the meal served."

But Relena saw a glint of amusement in the old man's eyes before he disappeared behind the door.

"Oh well," she rolled her eyes and sighed playfully, making her parents laugh a little.

Her father made a sound of clearing throat, "So, what award is it now?"

"Just a school award, " she tried to stay casual, "…for Junior Leadership Achievement."

"Really?" her mother commented, sounded interested, "In recognition of…?"

"…exemplary skills in academic, extra curricular and service projects," she answered, her voice weakened by degree as she spoke.

"Why… congratulation!" her mother stood and gave her a warm hug, "You should be happier, dear."

"I am happy," she answered after finished returning that hug, "But when all the people started to congratulate me…, I just… felt the attention too much…"

"Even after so many times of experiencing it?" her father teased her, causing her cheek become pink.

"It is good to be modest," Mrs. Darlian defended her daughter.

"Better get used to the attention," her father replied, smiling, "Anyways, I'm proud of you."

She smiled happily, pleased with her father's praise.

"Dinner is ready," Pagan's voice was heard from the door.

They returned to their seat, and the meal was served on the table. Pagan watched the happy family took their dinner from his spot at the corner of the room, smiling to himself at their intimacy.

When the dinner had over, the family took some time for chatting longer in living room. Which was rare, because Mr. Darlian was often too busy with his job as Vice Foreign Minister.

"…and I invited them to my birthday party next week. I intend to spread formal invitations tomorrow," Relena informed her parents, "Is it okay?"

"It is wonderful, dear" her mother replied, "I will help you to prepare the party."

"I'm glad to hear that," her father agreed.

But she noticed uneasiness shadowed her father's figure. "Father?"

Her father sighed.

"Unfortunately, I had a trip to visit a foreign country in Asia this week," he said and added quickly, "But I am going to be here on your birthday."

"Relena…" she felt her mother's gaze upon her.

"It's alright," she gave them a smile, "When will this trip start?"

"Tomorrow, I have to fly in the afternoon," her father answered as if apologizing.

"Really, don't worry about me," she said cheerfully, "Just make sure you return in time for my party, okay?"

"I promise," he answered in relief.

She asked more questions about the destination country, a small archipelago in south east Asia, not showing anything beside cheeriness. Then when the clock had announced her sleep time, they ended their small talk. She kissed her father and mother, bade them 'good night', and returned to her chamber.

But she didn't sleep immediately. Sitting on her bed, she stared to dim lightning of her room. She tried to check her plan for tomorrow, giving invitation cards to her friends, wishing safe trip for her father… anything. The truth was… she couldn't sleep.

She was annoyed. She thought she managed to clear her mind – she was succeeded during the dinner and the small talk – but it had proven wrong.

Alone in her bedroom, she had nothing to distract her from her 'dream boy'.

_It's just a dream, it's just a dream…_

She told herself to sleep. Yet, it only made her wondering what she would dream about tonight.

They said that if you dreamed a thing more than once, it would come true. And she had seen him so many times…

-.-.-

Sometimes he felt euphoria upon killing.

When he ended the giant earth-worm's life, the last monster around, his consciousness was still half-asleep. Without even realizing it, he ensured his surrounding was all clear. Nothing moved. Good.

He checked the stack of lifeless body on the ground, rejoicing his achievement, as if he was oblivious to bloody mess around nor his own condition.

Standing on a pile of countless corpses, both his claws blackened of blood and his dark wings were spread in the darkness of the night. That sight reminded us of Śiva the destroyer from _trimūrti_ – the Hindu Great Trinity. His crimson eyes sparkled as red as ruby, frightening even the bravest man in the world, because it undoubtfully showed a warning : the owner of those eyes was heartless.

_A target._

His mind registered the movement instinctively. With skilled moves of a predator, he followed those footsteps. It seemed that the target realized his hunting, the steps fastened. That effort of fleeing was useless, he knew the chase wouldn't last long. It's getting closer… he could feel the heartbeat grasping for breath… the breath caught in the throat…

He folded his wings, diving to seize the target. Frozen on the spot, the target was totally nerveless. One blow of his claw would make it over…

That was when the target started to shriek out. The loud scream of a little girl had stunned him. He gazed the target, who was indeed a girl, and drew a sharp breath. All his consciousness returned in a second, he was surprised to see a diffuse glow of the sky. The morning had come.

Those horrible creatures were no longer spawning everywhere. His training was over.

He repeated the fact a few times in his mind, to make sure he held his self-control back. Then he turned to the still crying girl on the ground. He extended one arm, blinked before made the claw returned back to a hand. He considered to wipe the blood with his cloth, but surprised to find his clothing had been worn-out of his wounds. Trying to clean his dirty hands as much as possible, he looked at the girl. Acknowledging his stare, the girl stopped crying, being completely still in horror.

With no words, he lifted the girl and made her stand on her feet.

"Return to the shelter," he pointed out to a direction, turning his back before added, "Be careful."

He didn't apologize.

That thought occupied his mind, he barely listened to his trainer's praise of his training result. He stepped into the hall, fewer and fewer soldiers could be seen nowadays, as the number of casualties increased drastically. Turning at a corner, he entered a small cabin of his. He didn't bother to treat his wounds, he slumped down instead.

_After all it was the point of his training, wasn't it? To make him become a homicidal weapon of mass-destruction. _

He closed his eyes on that description and begged his own brain not to go back to those thoughts.

Actually, it was strange for him to hate his life. From the start he never had another life beside this one. But although it was natural for him to grow up as a cold-blooded killer, it didn't happen. If it did, he wouldn't execrate himself like this. Like now, when he almost killed an innocent girl without even thinking.

He shuddered. He's certainly going to have bad dream today.

…or not.

Well, he refused to avoid sleep. In his injured condition, his body needed rest. Besides, it only delayed the problem, not solved it. He couldn't stay awake long enough – until today's event had been erased from his mind – without dying from lack of sleep. Then again, a certainly similar event would be repeated before he could start to forget. Not the correct choice, he concluded.

The choice left was to face it. The torturing un-peaceful dream, which brought more terror than any of his trainings or missions, where worst memories of events he wanted so much to never be happened, the scariest thoughts that ever passed in his mind gathered.

He was surprised himself why he hadn't become accustomed yet. Why he didn't practically just have no inner voice, no heart, no mind at all. So he would never have dreams. After all, only one dream of all his other dreams that wasn't bad dream. Just one single dream. He didn't know whether it was a fortune or a jinx.

When exactly he had that dream, he had no idea. The details had been worn-out due to time. He just felt it was long, long time ago. He was a kid that time, he assumed. It's not that his hand that age hadn't been stained with blood, but it shouldn't have been as much as now. He was just a kid, naïve enough to be able to have such fantasy. To dream about a heaven – so it might have to be called – a non-existent place. Strangely, it felt real. At first, he saw a garden. Green bushes and grass, some lush trees, and a lot of flowers. All of them were covered with dew, sparkling in a twinkle as he was fixed in enchantment. Then he felt a wind. Bringing nice scent of those flowers, the wind was fresh and relieving, that he closed his eyes to appreciate the bliss. And when he opened his eyes, all he could see was the sky, glimmering in brilliant blue. With some formless white cloud as its decoration, it looked magnificent. Somehow he knew the limitless of the sky was something his heart was craving for. So he stayed to stare, surrounded with peacefulness he had never felt, in the middle of nowhere.

That was when he saw another beauty, a figure that matched perfectly with the heavenly scenery. She stood there, showered by transparent glow, as if she was just an image that would vanish in any second. An incarnation of purity and freedom, just like the bright blue sky, which he often imagined longingly until now.

That vision was beautiful. All he saw in that dream were just too beautiful.

It really was so beautiful that he was struck with realization : all he had before was a foul compared with that dream. Having the one 'sweet-dream' had made him aware that all his other dreams were 'bad-dreams'. Having one 'perfect image of world' had made him feel that all things in his reality world were awful.

The single dream had given him the best memory he'd ever have in his entire life.

That single dream had given him a comprehension of his life, _his __**wrong **__and __**mistaken**__ life_.

How ironic that dream was?

Laying in his small cabin, he scowled. He hated the feeling of being evil.

Idly he opened a panel on the ceiling, allowing him a peek of pale orange sky. He gave the sky a blank stare as he imagined the borderless blue sky in his dream, the fresh air, mixed with fragrance of countless flowers.

He wanted to see her.

Somehow if such feeling of necessity went worse, his brain would refuse to think of anything beside her image.

And strangely, the feeling was getting stronger these days, making it harder for him to press it down. Most of the time he succeeded, but sometimes – only at very rare times – he caved in. Like now.

He gave in to the memories, to the confusing swirl of emotions and images that always seemed to accompany her. Closing his eyes, he knew that her image alone was going to hold his entire mind. He'd gladly let her this time.

Slowly, he felt himself drifted off to sleep. Half-conscious, he barely decided that dream was indeed a fortune. Simply because that dream had given him her image. While it had caused more difficulties in his missions, it always succeeded in saving him from nightmares.

-.-.-

End of Chapter One

~o~

**A/N : **I tried to make the mood of each point of view contrast. Her colour is white. His colour is black. Do you feel it somehow? Well, I am inexperienced in writing so this actually was meant to be one-shot. But my heart of author just cannot let these ideas in my mind fade. I only need build a confidence, and your hand will be highly appreciated.

**Last comment : **I will value it dearly if you are willing to leave a comment. I'm always curious about what is in your mind after reading my writing.


	2. Chapter Two : Attraction

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : "Gong xi guo nian! Happy Chinese New Year! New year, new chapter, and dear reader, you are welcomed here!"**

Hi, it's me again. Thanks for the reviews I got in my box, I was encouraged to publish this chapter. Dear Illico and Lena, my humble gratitude is for you both! Dear Akumetsu, thanks for your interesting suggestion!

Well, I decided to maintain the contrast comparison between the two points of view of our main characters, so if you happen to read the first chapter, you'll be familiar with this continuing story. This chapter is longer, I hope you will like it. Enjoy!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Two : Attraction_

~o~

**attract** _v_ [T] **1** pull (sth) towards **2** get the attention or interest of **3** find pleasing

**attraction** _n_ **1** [U] action or power of attracting **2** [C] something that attracts

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**~ "Spellbound, my heart, held captive by your mystical charm." ~**

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**It was easy to give in the tendency to eliminate all living things but himself.

Yet he didn't. And it gave him a nagging feeling which he couldn't shake off.

Why did he bother to differ allies from enemies? After all, those allies which were weaker than him – far weaker, he might add – were more some nuisance than assistance. It was simpler for him to not hold back his strength and attack with all his might.

But he didn't. Instead, he even tried to aid them, to prevent them from death. What a useless effort he did, since logically no commoners could stay alive after seven nights straight of fighting with monsters. Soldiers they might be, but in fact they died one by one. Naturally.

Had those elders gone insane at last? This crazy aimless mission of barging in the most dangerous site of this land was just succeeded in decreasing their troops. Maybe they had eventually given up the idea of starting a war. Small chance of happening, but it was a nice thought.

Perhaps he had gone mad too. It's just not like him to think about that. It's just not like him to _**NOT**_ finish off all his targets. Logically to reduce damage, he selected monsters which had the best combat ability first and killed them. Right thing to do, his mind approved that action. And his mind also told him not to let any other monster live, to make sure no harm would arise if they suddenly gained back their strength and attacked him again.

Except no, he just knocked those which he could categorize as weaker monsters down, and didn't end their live. It's rather inconvenient because he must make sure that the monster which he didn't kill stayed immobile or unconscious.

It's more than just inconvenient to press his bloody desire to kill under unstoppable attacks, moreover maintain his mind conscious.

He tried to find proper reasoning. This was different than his usual mission. Usually the monsters were on the bad side, attacking the shelter, hunting his people. So it could be accepted if he took lives while guarding the nights. But now he was the bad guy. He was the one who barged in this nest of horror, slaughtering with no reason. So he shouldn't be so… cruel…? For his own ears, that excuse was so pathetic that he couldn't stand. He was not that type of person. He was a soldier, practically since he had his first heart-beat. How come he suddenly cared about being sadist or not?

He had been crazy, he supposed.

Blame the slightly poisoning gas from the overflowing monster blood. Or the absolute darkness and solitude he had to experience for seven nights straight without sleep. Or his lack of blood due to unavoidable injuries.

He swore there was a voice which held him back, arising such a feeling of something he had to do. A voice which told him to protect his allies. A voice which deterred him to mercilessly eliminate all enemies. A voice which he couldn't stop echoing, encouraging him to keep his conscious state, not lost in his instinct.

And by failing that voice, he felt that somehow, something inside him would be broken. That's why he willingly followed that voice. Without a thought over, without a doubt, without hesitation. Just a little annoyed feeling at how easy inexistent voice controlled his actions. Only because that voice somehow related to _**that dream**_, and her.

Yes, he had definitely lost his sanity.

He sighed.

Had it been over yet? He turned around for last check. Everything was chill. Good. Mission accomp- wait, he heard a flutter. Was that a pair of wings? No, some pair of wings… three, or four.

He held his grudge, and prepared his only weapon left : his bare hands. He quietly transformed his right fist into a claw, listening to the fluttering sound which came closer.

And the time when the first target landed to the ground, he spelled a fire blast which immediately covered the entire attackers. The flame quickly spread, lightening the dark abyss. In a blink of eye, he passed through the fire and gave a blow to the target in the lead. It should be perfect… if the target didn't pair. A twang which resembled metal clanging echoed in the air. Before the target gave further react, Heero sent following combo and successfully landed a kick to the target. The target was sent flying, but he narrowed his eyes pointedly as he realized the target had intentionally jumped back before he landed his kick. It was a clever, and instinctual, respond to reduce damage. His opponent this time definitely couldn't be taken lightly.

His tensed guard tensed even more when he heard a voice began to spoke.

"Well, see what kind of welcome we have here…."

The spooky voice, which had a slight tremble in it, faded in a laugh. A roar of laughter followed it, similarly sound of laughter which sent a shiver down his spine. The laughter he knew too well.

"…elders," he greeted in a monotone voice.

The laughter died down as a foot steps heard coming closer. Now he could see an old man wearing a pair of round black spectacles in lead of the group. His metal hand reflected light from the fire remaining of his first attack.

"I see you have accomplished the mission, Heero," the old man commented with amused tone, "It's nice to have you still alive."

Heero didn't bother to give a respond.

"No other survivor…?" another voice began to speak, "…what a shame."

"…again?" the other added with a small laugh, "You have said it five times by this time. I count."

"It is natural since you only send such a small number of men to accompany them, J," the last old man stated, making the first old man nodded to him.

Silence expanded for a minute, until Dr. J saw that Heero's gaze still focused to the darkness behind them. He smirked.

"So…," he turned around, "Looks like he won't be satisfied until I introduce you, guys."

Some flaps of wings heard as they landed one by one. As he expected, there were four people. He did a quick scan of their appearance. Physically, all of them were tainted by blood, and he could easily assume that they had just finished a long battle. And excellent fighters, he concluded from their way of move and act.

As for their faces, none of them he had ever seen. Two of them had… weird expressions which he never saw among the soldiers. The third one, however, was expressionless. It was strangely familiar as he compared it with his own facade. And the last one, the one he paired with just now, wore such an expression he understood well. He challenged him to fight.

He had never lowered his guard when they introduced themselves.

A boy with a long braided hair whistled as he commented, "Such a huge bunch of monster... dangerous, man."

…_easy going type…_

"…aaaandd," he added with a grin, "With quite skill too, not killing all of them."

_Correction, sharp eyes._

"Duo Maxwell," playfulness was clear in his eyes as well as in his goofy smile, "Duo for short."

"Heero Yuy," the stoic boy stated as he stepped forward.

_This guy is unreadable._

"I'm Trowa Barton."

"Nice to meet you," the fourth boy with blond hair followed the third guy.

…_is he really a soldier?_

His warm smile widened, "Quatre Raberba Winner."

"I assumed you aren't the type to avoid challenge," the guy with black eyes was the last who spoke.

_Prideful, more like arrogant._

"Chang Wufei, demands a rematch."

Heero and that arrogant-guy glared at each other until Dr. J's raspy sound of clearing throat was heard.

"No time for it, boys," all the elders smiled at the same time, giving him a bad feeling.

"We have another task for you," his voice mysteriously sounded hollow, "A really, really, interesting one."

It would be, no doubt of it, a hell.

-.-.-

She didn't realize that she dazed off again.

Fortunately she had assigned herself to different placement from her group of friends yesterday. Or else they would probably be curious of her constant absent-minded state this morning. It didn't mean that her current group of task didn't pay her that equals amount of attention, but they were simply too struck by her charming appearance in casual clothes. Then again, they were also drooling at her in her school uniform. The mistress and her fans, as usual.

The weather was cloudy, but every time a cloud moved and sun ray shone upon the Central Park, it caused the park spark beautifully, and her glow angelically. She wore a cream-coloured turtle neck top and dark-brown pantsuit today, the long sleeves had been folded up to her elbows when she painted a garden bench before. Her hair had been tied in low-ponytail, leaving some honey blond strands stayed loose. Pure white muffler warmed her neck from late autumn wind. And when she stayed still like that, she became surreal. A breeze played her hair and made her white muffler floating while golden sun ray light created a halo crown on her. That instant, the large brush she held became temporary invisible. Her gaze was warm but distant, for her day-dreaming, and anybody who looked at her would want to capture such beauty. For her "fans" however, she was true angel at the moment. Minus a pair of wings which should sprout from her back.

Except that it was there all that time. The real wings. If only they knew.

Of course, there were many things that they didn't know about her. Things which were better if they didn't have a clue about. Included the reason of her musing habit these days.

Her dream boy. Good thing that he wasn't real, or he would have to deal with all those outraged fans of her for occupying her mind the past week. And today.

The previous night in her dream, he showed up again. Not running or evading her this time. So she was perplexed to no end, replaying the dream again and again in her mind, trying to find a reason.

…

…

…

At first, he was nowhere to be seen. Only a voice was heard, calling her name once, in a way that made her overwhelmed with longing. She looked around and searched for source of the voice, because in a way she knew, that it was him.

It was darkness which enveloped her, tranquil water below her feet. Hesitating first, she slowly took a step, finding out that she was floating on its surface.

But without a direction, she didn't know where she should go. She wanted to call out him, but she never knew his name. And it was so quiet and sedate, that jittery crept on her nerves. She forced herself to walk a few steps straight, before turned around in sudden desperate.

"Where are you…?" her voice broke in the end.

Then after echo from her call faded, a sound of water splash were heard from a distance. She listened, closing her eyes, trying to decipher where it came from. When she opened her eyes again, he was there, standing in front of her.

It was dark and the details stayed hidden, but she could see him now, clearer than any time before. Her pulse quickened in anticipation.

The boy was tall, more than one inch taller compared with her height. She looked up to him, and suddenly felt hard to breathe.

A pair of Prussian blue eyes stared at her. Intently and unmoving. And when he said her name again, she felt a knot in her heart. It was hurt, and without knowing why, her eyes welled up with tears.

She took a step to him and stopped, afraid that he might run away from her.

But he didn't.

So she stepped further. He stayed still, those eyes boring into hers.

Ignoring her suffocation, she walked quicker. Her heart rate increased with each step. She stopped before him, merely one arm length distance. She wanted to speak, to ask who he was. Anything was good, she thought, she needed to say something! But she couldn't find a word, except a continuous chant inside her, thumping along with her pulse.

_Finally..._

They stared at each other, not saying a word. The piercing gaze of his eyes gradually softened, getting more intense and intimate. She felt her eyes covered with hot tears, and in slow motion stretched her hand to him. Her hand trembled a bit before she timidly touched a side of his face. Her breath was caught when he touched her hand on his cheek in return.

He called her name once more time, and closed his eyes.

She gasped audibly when his dark figure melt into liquid, making her hand which touched him wet, before disappearing into the water below.

…

…

…

Relena startled from her muse, let out a small gasp. Then she blinked and realized where she was. At the Central Park with her class, on St Gabriel's social-working day, cleaning up the park.

She stared to the brush of paint in her hand, and internally sighed.

She had awoken this morning in the exact same way. Except that her cheeks were wet with tears. She stole a glance to her group behind her. They gave her questioning looks – on some blushing faces – which she replied with a smile. At least there weren't tears on her face this time, she thought gratefully. Then, she shook her head and mentally scolded herself.

"_Get a grip, Relena Darlian!"_

She took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

Then she continued her previous task, painting the bench in front of her.

-.-.-

Heero Yuy took his spot in a dark corner of the basement, watching over his new "comrades". He spent his time to re-confirm the other guys' profile he obtained this morning.

"Evening, everyone," a calm voice greeted, "I hope you had a good sleep."

_Quatre, _he stated mentally.

"Gee, I slept like a log… that's the result you get from seven days lack of sleep," came the comment's reply.

Heero moved his gaze to the back of the room. _Duo._

"I hate this." _Wufei. _"I see no use of this secrecy, but I can't find anything related to the mission."

Heero agreed with all of them. Since yesterday's event, the elders hadn't said a word at all about their next mission. And even though all of them apparently tried to search a clue themselves, they got nothing. He kept his nerve. He knew they were all on edge here, doing nothing but waiting the elders came to reveal their mission.

In unsaid agreement, they waited in silence.

Heero gazed the wall in front of him, and absently glanced to the guy standing next to it. That guy closed both of his eyes, but still looked alert in the same time. Exactly when he looked at him, the guy opened his eyes. _Trowa._

"They are here," said the stoic boy.

Duo grumbled a bit under his breath when the metal doors opened. The elders came in one by one, flame of the torches made their eyes glinted mischievously. After the doors closed again, Dr. J's raspy voice began to spoke.

"Prepare for a long journey, five of you," all of them gazed at the old man impassively.

"Spit out the details, old man," stated Wufei.

"And the duration of the mission," added Quatre.

Instead of answering the questions, the elders laughed merrily. It took all he had in him to stop a tremor from running down his spine.

"There is no time limit this time, young man," the bald elder answered calmly, "Because you will be the one to decide when this mission will end."

"…what does it mean?" curiosity was clear in Trowa's question.

"We will only provide one way ticket, boy," the shortest of the elders replied with a chortle, "You must find your way back by yourself."

Duo's usual easy going attitude fell hearing that. His beautiful amethyst eyes darkened dangerously as he spoke.

"And what kind of mission is this?"

"To find the successor of Sanq Kingdom's throne," Dr. J's words were cut off that instant.

"Prince Milliardo Peacecraft has died."

"Not him, Heero. We are looking for his _little sister_," he smirked, "The princess."

"But I think all of the royal family have…," Quatre said in disagreement, then gasped, "No, it is only people's assumption."

"True, they can't find the royal family anywhere in Terris. So when it's said that they have deceased, that is what people believe," he stopped, and the boys knew what he would say next, "But now the belief has been broken."

"How can you know?" Wufei sent the elders distrustful look.

"I remote-gaze the dreamseer of Middle Continent," he stated proudly, "And apparently this news is also shocking for them."

"They found the princess?"

"Haven't yet. But when they do, it will create a chaos." The elders glanced at each other in mutual scheme. "And that is the moment we are looking for."

"To start the war," they said in unison.

"So, we are going to find this little princess… then what?" Duo, regained his usual manner, shrugged.

"Sent her here as a hostage? Or…," he left his word hanging, Quatre's facial expression went cold.

They laughed a little, "You insult us, boy. No, we don't intend anything evil to the girl."

"Not yet," Duo grumbled to himself.

"We can hear you, boy," Dr. J clasped his metal hands, "So, here is the mission : five of you will search for the princess. The first one who finds her should shadow-follow her, the other may return here. You are free to work together or alone, what we need is at least one messenger to inform us at the time when the princess is found."

"In other words, only one of us is needed to fulfill this mission," Trowa concluded.

"Ok," Duo held out one finger and wiggled it, "The fastest will be the princess' stalker, check. What else should be done?"

"Stick to the princess, sooner or later the seekers from Middle Continent will bring her to the-ruins-which-used-to-be her kingdom. I am assuming you find her before they do," he smiled, "Observe what happens then around the girl, when the riot of throne successor emerges – I bet it will in no time – your mission is ended. Return here to report."

The silence stretched for a few minutes. Heero tried not to think about the war which would follow right after the mission ended. He must concentrate to this mission first.

"It's just sounded…" Wufei narrowed his eyes pointedly, "…too easy."

"Well I guess the hardest part will be finding the princess first," commented Quatre, "We don't have any guidepoints, do we?"

"Our Middle Continent's fellas do, but unfortunately we don't have much," he gave a confirmation nod, "That's why we try to push up our chance by sending five people instead of one. It may be easier if you find an envoy from Middle Continent first then he will eventually lead you to the princess."

Yes, they were better at recognizing a Middle Continent soldier than recognizing a random girl as a princess. Still, the search was almost pointless, like searching a needle in the middle of straw rick.

"What can you give us?" asked Trowa.

"Only her physical appearance. That's not much, really…" Dr. J paused, "Let's see…"

"…blue eyes…," one of the elders began.

"…honey-blond hair," the other continued, "Most probably long, if the images we see are accurate enough."

"…fair skin and pink-rosy lips," add another with a grin, "A lovely dear indeed, if I may add."

"Melodious voice…," at that moment Heero couldn't stop an image appearing inside his head.

_That dream again_.

"But those obviously don't help your search," Dr. J ended, making Duo roll his eyes, Trowa slump back to the wall, Quatre give an encouraging smile, and Wufei grunt rudely.

"So the last guide may be the most useful clue for you guys," he added, "According to Sanq Kingdom's ex-citizen, the princess is an angel since her birth."

Heero froze.

"A girl with a pair of white wings," the elders clearly enjoyed their surprised looks, "Definitely not a thing we usually see nowadays."

His heart was thumping loud inside his chest, the image in his head became clearer as the elders continued.

"In case you get it wrong, guys, we are not looking for a_ little_ princess anymore by now," he emphasized the word little, "Because the girl have - of course - grown up with years."

Heero barely heard Dr. J's next words. His ears were buzzing from the sudden rush of his blood. As if he wasn't in the stone-built basement that time, but inside the green garden in the dream again. The image came so clear as if it was happening once more time. A girl inside the garden looked at him with her blue eyes, her golden hair glistened from sunlight.

"This year, her age will eventually be the same as you," Dr. J ended his sentence.

A pair of pure white wings sprouted from her back.

And she offered him a smile.

-.-.-

"Pardon_, _Miss Relena… what is the colour you like most?" a girl stopped her sweeping and asked her.

"Blue," she answered mindlessly, "…Prussian blue maybe. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, just a clue to buy you a present," the girl giggled a little, Relena just grinned back, "For your sixteenth birthday."

-.-.-

Heero knocked his own mind down. With a few, hard, mental punches.

_No reason to think that __**she**__ is the princess._ He stated to himself. _No matter how bad I want to meet her again._

How high was the probability? One per one million? Then again how he would know that the girl was _**her**_ if they only met once. It was ridiculous.

So he controlled his heartbeat down, and extinguished the smoldering remnant of the thought. When he opened his eyes again, he was on the ground again. Good.

He straightened his pose, and was glad to find his usual focused mind. The heat was gone, and he felt cool again. He registered the details of the mission to his brain, and began to analyze it. Objectively.

Wait, there was a thing went wrong.

"You said that we must find our way back by ourselves," he spoke up, arising curious stare from the other four.

Dr. J lips curved up slowly, "Yes."

"That statement is odd if we assume we will skirt to Middle Continent. We have done it before and we know the way back." All in the basement tensed, yes that was the fact.

"And you said they can't find the royal family anywhere in Terris," he continued, four pairs of eyes widen in realization, "So it also goes against Middle Continent as the assumed destination."

"Sharp as usual, Heero," Dr. J gave him amused look, "Yes Middle Continent is not included in your search area."

"Wait, you said _they can't find the royal family __**anywhere in Terris**_," Quatre stated slowly, "The princess is not in Terris, and she is also not dead. The two statements contradict, don't they?"

"And you said you only give us one way ticket," Trowa added hastily, "Is it related to this?"

"The statements don't contradict, Quatre," came the calm answer, "For the one way ticket, Trowa, it is caused by our limited knowledge of this matter. This is a new thing for us."

"Explain the word _'this thing'_," urged Wufei.

"Why of course _'this thing'_ is about your transportation for the mission, Wufei," he replied lightly, "A brand new untested transportation magic. So that's why we still haven't found a way to spell you back here."

"Great, just great," Duo rambled, waving his hands back and forth, "Just don't tell me where you will send me, I don't even want to know."

"Well, you have known the destination since you heard the mission. It is no other than the place where the princess lives these past years," he said gleefully.

"Seventh heavens?" one quirked an eyebrow.

"Very close, Duo," slow head shake mentioned correction, "The other world."

"Whaaaaatt!"

"We don't know anything about crossing-world magic," Quatre's voice sounded tight, "How will we find a way back here?"

"Good question, Quatre. The search team from Middle Continent knows the way. Just find and follow them back here." The elders smirked evilly. "But the risk of no-return still can not be erased entirely."

"Trapped in another word forever?" Duo snapped angrily, "That's it. I'm in this mission. Any place is better than this place, so I will never see you – crazy old men – again."

"Anything you want, Duo," came amused sing-song. "So, how about the rest?"

-.-.-

_Strange_, she thought.

Most of other students were chit-chatting here and there during the park's cleaning. The thing she would also do if she was in her usual self. But today, she was the most diligent student who cleaned the entire park dutifully. Maybe she had worked harder than the official cleaning service of the park itself. Now that was something.

_That's strange_, she said again to herself. _How come I always be so restless when a dream of him tag after my mind?_

She never knew about this before. Well, she knew she was somehow antsy to do something, to the point of extreme, these days. The usual boring homeworks were suddenly seemed very nice for her. She submitted her projects far earlier before the supposed deadline, but even after that she still felt needing some tasks to do. So beside school, she focused her attention to her courses. She got praise from her dancing tutor the previous day because of her perfect steps, and from her _ikebana_ sensei for her heavenly floral arrangement. It was very pleasing, yet again… she felt lacking of activities.

When she was at home, she couldn't stay long at one spot, especially her bedroom. She spent longer and longer time in her garden, taking care of the plants and flowers, chatting with her little 'friends'. Even with their little brains, those blue birds could tell that there was something wrong with her.

And if the sun had set, she would occupy her time with reading, or sometimes counting the stars… until she eventually fell asleep. As if she avoided sleep.

Plainly, she became more active and full of life. Apparently people saw her like that. But she knew better.

All she had done was only a desperate effort to make a distraction. From the dawn until dusk, trying to prevent the ever-following thoughts of him entering her mind.

Realizing this fact, she heaved. It didn't make her proud at all.

Then again, why she tried so hard to bury down those shadowy dreams of a fancy dream-boy? Because she knew for sure that this wasn't normal. This really wasn't normal. Ordinary dream was sweet, inspiring wishes and hopeful thinking, but that was all. A dream. Even a nightmare lost its effect after a while. But this... _**each dream**_ was almost permanent, saved in her brain as if it actually happened. The dreams were not imaginative, these were getting more real every day. She started seeing things, turning around or looking behind regularly, checking whether the image of him was there or not. She knew she was always unusual, weird even, but her current state was alarming. She was afraid if she would no longer be able to differ fantasy from reality. Did she have a disorder without even knowing it?

Repetitive dreams were odd enough, but what scared her most was a committed bound which was built by those dreams. She didn't know him, yet she felt so familiar with his presence. She never truly met him, but since she first had the dream she couldn't stop yearning. As if she just understood somehow, that there was something missing in her heart. Not even close to ordinary fantasy of a crush. She was falling for an illusion.

When the realization struck in, she understood why she became hyperactive all of sudden. She, unconsciously, refused to let those dreams took over her.

At least the effort brought a good result, kinda. Only that it made her tired. If this continued, she would probably faint due to exhaustion soon.

God, those dreams held her mind too much for her liking. She needed to do something to solve this matter. But was there a way she could find out?

Knelling sound was heard from faraway hill. The bell signaled the hour of afternoon tea, and the end of their social work. Crowd of students dispersed into smaller groups, happy talk was heard here and there. Most of them usually continued to stroll around the town. But she really wasn't in the mood, maybe if she could find a way to excuse herself...

"Miss Relena!" enthusiastic calls came from behind, cutting her thought.

_Uh-oh._

-.-.-

They stepped into the magical circle, took their spots and gazed back to the elders. Firm expressions were on their faces, they were ready to depart.

The elders stepped forward also, causing them mild surprise. They lined up in front of the boys, one on one. With a flicker of fingers, a small metal piercing was placed on each ear. As they examine the ear-pierces curiously, the elders backed again to their places.

"Those were communicators, use them and you can stay connected to the others, as long as you are in the same dimension." Dr. J clasped his metal hand. "It may come in handy, since we cannot make sure you arrive in that world in a bunch."

"You won't tell us that until the last minutes, will you?" Duo said, causing thin smirks decorate the boys' lips, "But I will let this one go, since you actually give something useful."

The elders smiled also.

"Each of you is the best of your group. We believe that you will succeed in your mission."

They nodded in return, Duo snorted playfully at the speech. Then the elders started casting the spell. Orange jelly-like clouds covered the boys immediately, the magic circle flared in the middle of the yellow fog.

"We bid you farewell, our soldiers, and we wish you a glorious return."

The elders watched until the five boys lost from their eyesight. Then they turned around and went back into the basement. They had their own tasks, there were many preparations to do. Moreover this time forward.

The Operation Meteor had started.

-.-.-

A water drop touched her face, and she looked up to the sky. The gray clouds darkened as it began to rain.

She put back her cellphone into her pocket, and walked into the simple yet classy tea house. She said good bye to her group, apologizing with a tender smile. She tried to ignore the slightly disappointed looks which crossed their eyes. She really needed some sleep.

She paid her tea to the waiter, and the pleasant young man offered her an umbrella. Thanking him with a grateful smile, she turned down his offer, pointing her ivory umbrella outside the glass door. He mouthed an "o" and gave her polite nod.

Taking her coat from engraved hanger near the front veranda, she glanced to her group again - their conversation seemed quieter than before. She took one step to go, but... she didn't have the heart to leave just like that.

So she turned around once more, calling to her friends.

"See you tomorrow!" she exclaimed, waving her hand. They lit up visually, waving to her cheerfully.

When she walked towards the door, she was surprised to find the young waiter standing there, gallantly opened the door for her. Then he bowed excessively, causing her crack a giggle. She rewarded him with small curtsy, before stepped outside and lifted her umbrella. She sent last winsome smile through the glass door, not noticing that the smile made the waiter couldn't stop grinning in pride afterward.

She took quick steps in the pouring rain, turning to the left, towards the main road. Pagan should be waiting in front of the regular halt.

-.-.-

He had spent quite some time standing there.

Well, that was because he didn't have a clue of what to do. When he touched the ground, he found himself alone. Checking his communicator ear-pierce, it only buzzed as response. He assumed that he was the first who arrived in this dimension.

_Better start searching,_ he thought.

So he took a very uninteresting corner at the street, and observed the area around him. He paid more attention to the people, especially women, looking for a blond-haired girl. It was outside his estimation that so many women were blond here. Way to go. He stared at each one who passed in front of him, to the point that he unintentionally gave them creeps. He watched them walked away, some of them got into a four-wheeled box and left. He found those colourful odd-shaped carts interesting.

After a moment, he got a nerve. White wings were the most reliable clue of the appearance, but it seemed that it was unusual for people here to walk around showing wings. It might be possible that they didn't have wings at all. It would make the search harder.

The dizziness from dimensional crossing trip came back again.

_What am I going to do?_

When he rubbed his tired eyes, something peculiar happened. Drops of water which kept falling around him gradually transformed into another form. Tiny puffs of white fell lazily towards the ground. He opened his palm to catch some, examining it intently. It was a kind of ice, but in softer form. _Attractive_, he thought appreciatively.

He relaxed again, noticing that it caused no harm.

Some other people passed in front of him again. It was once they passed that he happened to look toward the near end of the path.

There was someone there, standing and twirling around in the middle of white puffs showering. He guessed that the person also found the soft ice interesting. Somehow his gaze was pulled and focused there. His eyes widen when he caught a glimpse of blond hair.

_...golden hair..._

His sight was locked there immediately. The girl continued her slow pace, oblivious to his stare. She held a kind of portable shelter in her right hand, but she lowered it, letting herself unprotected. She looked unfazed with the pouring of soft ice upon her, happy even. He watched the white puffs land on her head, hair, and shoulders. He watched her every steps, memorizing the details of her without meaning to. Her golden hair which tumbled past her shoulders was contrast with grayish coat she wore.

She blinked when a white puff landed on her nose. Heero missed a heartbeat when the girl laughed a little. He stared at her, dumbfounded when she moved her head in one quick shake, making the ice dust on her fall to the ground, the white muffler around her neck loosen, and the golden strands of her hair disentangled freely.

_...melodic laugh..._

When she came closer, he could see her breath white from the cold. Rosy colour tinged her cheeks and nose, while the rest of her porcelain face stayed pale. She looked forward, to his direction, and his pulse quickened against his will. As if he was in a trance, he couldn't stop looking. His breathing jagged.

She was nearly here.

She was looking around, apparently searching for something. She also wanted to ride the weird cart, perhaps? But all his thoughts stopped abruptly when she looked at the corner where he stood at. Ah, she was just aware of his presence at last. She quick-glanced him, then the portable shelter she held all that minutes, and seemed drowned in her thought for a while. He wondered what she thought about.

His heart almost jumped from his chest when she walked towards him. There was no mistake, she was coming to him. The girl stopped right in front of him, making them stand face to face. A pair of sky blue eyes locked his gaze, and he felt his head spin around. He was stunned when she extended the portable shelter she held towards him. After some seconds he averted his eyes back to her face.

_...sky blue eyes..._

Her smile was warm, and his mind went blank that instant.

_I have been found out. _The sentence was echoing inside his head. _I have been caught._

-.-.-

Wow, she had made the boy confused.

What was she thinking, giving her umbrella to a random stranger? But he was so wet, standing in the middle of snow rain like that. Moreover she didn't need the umbrella. Pagan would come to fetch her with a car in any minutes. She should explain this to the boy in front of her. But with the intense stare he gave her, somehow she got trouble to find any words. Those deep blue eyes were really something.

She just opened her mouth to speak, when the boy started. He looked horrified, back off suddenly in panic.

She was surprised too, the umbrella fell off her hand. The boy was running away in an amazing speed. Almost as fast as the cold wind which blew her umbrella towards the same direction. She stared, completely dazed, to the direction where he was gone.

Strangely, her heart ached when she looked at the deserted path. The same ache which she usually felt every time she watched her father leave for another long trip. Suddenly she felt the snow rain so cold, and loneliness filled her heart. She didn't have the will to look for her blown-off umbrella, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the direction.

She remembered to take a breath to calm herself. But when she inhaled, it came out as a sob. Tears rolled down even though she restrained her weep.

She didn't know why.

-.-.-

_*) Terris = Earth_

_*) dreamseer = oracle, diviner_

_*) ikebana = Japanese art of flowers_

End of Chapter Two

~o~

**A/N :** I will take a pause in writing. The final exams are coming, so I need to make my preparations. Sorry. Check my profile for some information of my current status of writing. I will eventually be back without you realizing it.

**Last comment :** I'm building my confidence here. Do my writing manage to make you held your breath even once? So send me some comments, please. I will be very glad if you do.

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**Additional Guidance :** Look below this writing, can you see three text-boxes? The green one which is read "Review this Story/Chapter" is the one you must click if you want to leave me something. A comment, questions, critics... anything is fine, and I will certainly appreciate it. The left text-box which is read "Add story to favourites" has a little black triangle sign on it. Click on it and choose "Add story to Story Alert" if you want to be notified when I update the third chapter of _Wings_.

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Thank you for reading!

I already have some ideas for the next chapter.

_**"The boy went to travel in search of a girl... a girl with a pair of white wings and royal blood of mystical kingdom in her veins. But he was not her hero." **_

_**(Chapter Three : Hidden)**_

I will be honoured if you are looking forward to it!


	3. Arc Ficlet 1st

**A/N : Three reviewers in one day! Fifty seven readers! Kind readers, I am crying in joy. Dearest Illico, you have my heart. Dear talkstoangels77, I will try to be better. Dear Nihal, I will expect you in my next chapter. To all my readers, thank you so much!**

Someone, sue me. I should study now, preparing for my exam, but... forgive me God! I promise I will return to my SQL questions more seriously later.

I checked my previous two chapters, thanks to my keen reviewers, and found out A LOT of grammatical errors. I hope I have succeeded in fixing them. Although it may not be perfect, at least it is now better. I still have no time to write the third chapter, but here I offer you a short arc ficlet.

Um, it is a short drabble, a comical explanation about why I only have two main characters in my story : _Wings_. Once more time, dearest readers... don't be confused with my writing style. I only use two main focus : boy's POV (Heero) and girl's POV (Relena) in my main chapters. It may not be explicit, but it is safe to assume by yourself.

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_-a Gundam Wing flashfic-_

_Title : __**Seducing Attempt?**_

_Genre : General/Humor_

~o~

**drabble** _n_ **1 **extremely short work of fiction, fewer than 1000 words **2** short piece of literature, usually fan fiction, where brevity is its outstanding feature **3** flashfic; shortfic; or ficlet

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(I tried to make this following drabble seducing.)

Imagine a perfection of beauty, Relena Peacecraft-Darlian, in a tight red dress which hugged her curves nicely, leaving her shoulders bare. Her smooth honey-blond hair let loose, contrast with her porcelain neck, combed back behind one ear. Imagine her blue eyes shined dreamily, looking at you. (Stop the whistles, guys!) Yes, she was looking at you. Her natural pink lips curved very slowly, into a very sexy smile (OMG!) and she winked mischievously.

With one hand on her hip, she bent towards you. (Keep breathing, keep breathing…) She pulled off her gloves, and blew you a… kiss.

(STOP those bleeding noses RIGHT NOW!)

-.-.-

Imagine one drop-dead gorgeous male, particularly named Heero Yuy, in a formal three pieces suit. Tall, dark, and dangerously looking handsome. His dark hair fell in front of those anaesthetizing eyes which, fortunately, staring at you now.

(I tried to imagine him posing in muscular poses… a failed attempt.)

(So try this one.)

He loosened his tie, put off his coat. He undid some buttons of his white shirt, leaving a sight of well-built chest. (You may admire it for a while, girls.) And then he unbuttoned his sleeves, one by one, while his gaze upon you stayed unfazed. Finished with the last button, he stopped. And you were captured with his intimate stare.

With elegant moves of a predator, he walked towards you. (Stay on your weaken knees, come on!) He got you trapped with his hands, shoving you against a wall. He brought his face closer to your face, until you could feel his breath upon your lips. (Ah, poor fans. Fainting at this point.)

He whispered into your ear. Your name, in deep, husky voice, which made you melt that instant.

(Well, he usually called one name like that in the series. The name of a certain girl, but… let's just insert your name here.)

-.-.-

A roar of laughter was heard as background, and the acting was dropped that instant. A certain Heero Yuy stood there, looking very annoyed. He pulled off his hanging tie and threw it to a braided guy who was laughing on the floor.

Then he eyed a girl who was trying to suppress her laughter, still clad in her red dress. A certain Relena Peacecraft-Darlian got his gaze, and straightened her facial expression. It lasted for a whole minute, before she cracked laughing. Heero scowled furiously.

"Oh come on, Heero," she said between faint laughter, "You are not the only victim here."

Agreeing hum was heard from the crowds. But the other casts winced when Heero sent them a death-glare.

(O-ow. I must step in now.)

**Hei, Heero. How about giving me a hand here?**

(I eyed the group one by one, smirking evilly. Each character sweat-dropped.)

**I am thinking about picking more people to star in my story. What do you think?**

"They have run away, miss Author," Relena stated pleasantly.

"Cowards," added Heero.

A disagreement echo from far away was heard in Chinese words.

(I stared to the deserted area, slightly amused.)

**Am I that frightening?**

My remaining supposed-to-be-couple only laughed as response.

-.-.-

_Fin._

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**A glimpse from the third chapter of **_**Wings**_** :**

_~She forgot, he remembered, yet they both missed something.~_

Those dreams of the mysterious guy had stopped, exactly as she wished. But she was not happy at all.

_~ "Spellbound, my heart, held captive by your mystical charm." ~_

He should search for the objective of his mission. Yet he found himself, unconsciously, searching for the little girl of his dream.

_~"There is a secret of secrets..."~_

**Thanks for reading! See you in my next chapter!**


	4. Chapter Three : Hidden

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : I got three more reviews in my box! Dearest Illico, you are still my source of courage. Thank you. And I am happy to see you again, dear Akumetsu. Don't apologize for your delayed review, I have already felt wonderful to receive your comment! To my newest reviewer, dear JasLine, I am glad to know you like my story. But unfortunately, it looks like an error happened and parts of your message are missing. If you don't mind, I will be happy to receive another comment from you. Oh, and I give you an official **_**Wings**_** explanation (at last!) so go to the end of this chapter to read it.**

In this chapter, I try to switch our two main characters' position. Relena is introduced to unsureness and burden, on the other hand Heero is faced to a calm, peaceful world. It is interesting to watch them react. Enjoy!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Three : Hidden_

~o~

**hide** _v_ (_pt_ **hid**, _pp_ **hidden**) **1** [T] put or keep out of sight **2** secret; not known; mysterious.

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_**~"There is a secret of secrets..."~**_

_**

* * *

**_When Pagan arrived, Relena had stopped crying.

Pagan came out from the pink limo, carrying an umbrella for his mistress. He was surprised to see his young lady so… impassive. She stood there, near a dull concrete brick wall, motionless. Her grayish coat was soaked by snow, and she didn't do anything to thin layer of ice which covered some part of her hair and shoulders. And she didn't seem to acknowledge him at all.

So, he stepped slowly towards her and provided shelter for her with the umbrella he held. He watched her for some seconds. She still didn't react.

Worried, he lowered his head to her level.

"…miss?"

The call registered into her. She lifted her eyes a little, her eyes looked foggy, as if she was still dreaming. When she saw Pagan's face, her lips mouthed a soundless greeting, and she straightened her posture. Then her eyes averted to her limo and without waiting for her butler, she walked towards the car. Pagan followed her in quick steps, sheltering her from the snow rain. After they got into the car, Pagan started driving. The old butler's anxiety increased as the minutes passed, he paid glances to his young mistress in the back seat for many times. She was looking outside the window, obviously didn't pay attention to any scenery she saw.

_What's wrong with me?_

The road outside her window was covered by snow, looked as white and grey blur lines in her vision. She steadied her trembling hands, and swallowed her sigh. She resisted the urge to cover her nose, which was reddened from her cry, with her hand.

She was only tired, she decided. She almost didn't sleep last night, and the night before the previous night. She felt horrible, so weary. She was never this fragile. Yes, she was more sensitive in some occasions, during her period for example. Or when she had fever. She remembered her tears wouldn't stop when her temperature went above forty degree. But those were because of biological reason.

But this… this had gone too far. She was practically weeping without reason. Moreover in_** public.**_ It definitely wasn't related to her lost umbrella at all.

Her chest ached again, and her vision became glassy. She closed both eyes vigorously.

_I am not going to cry with no reason._ She held back her tears by force. _Again._

She hated when she was weak like this. She really needed sleep. So what with those annoying dreams? The dreams had no effect on her. Even if it did, she wouldn't care. She would stay on her bed today, even if she had to tie herself on it.

Nah, it had been settled already. Now she should stop shivering. It was because of the cold, she just needed to warm herself.

Pagan almost jerked the limo when she called him, and she realized that she had been quiet for quite a long time.

"Yes, miss?"

"I'm just wondering whether you have some dry towels." She was proud that her voice sounded collected. "My coat is wet from the snow."

-.-.-

It had been two days since he first arrived in this world.

Yet he managed to find nothing.

Heero scrutinized the poster with a picture of a girl wearing diamond tiara in front of him. It was titled "The Dancing Party of the Year". He read the first paragraph : "The presidential will hold a welcoming party for 'Princess' Amelia, the winner of Eurasia beauty contest…"

He didn't understand what the poster implied, but the party seemed related to a 'princess'. He checked the date. It would take place the day after the following day.

With a snatch he tore the poster off the announcement board. He would have it checked later. At this time he ought to find his destination first. He glanced up to the sky, it was almost evening. He had to be fast.

He turned to an empty road, climbed a flight of rusty emergency stairs and stepped on the top of the old apartment block in no time. From there he couldn't be seen by the pedestrians below.

He was still not willing to take the risk of using his wings. So he chose to use his legs, running on the upper part of the tall blocks, jumping from one building to another. The air was humid on his face, it was going to be raining soon. Where was the place?

Ah, there it was. The huge tower at the west of the town. They were supposed to meet there.

He landed gracefully on the desolate alley behind the tower. The soft ice had begun to fall again. He wrapped his cloak around his shoulder, and walked towards the entrance. With one hand he spelled the iron padlock unlocked, stepped in, and closed the doors behind him. The tower was almost dark, but he had no complaints. He went to the upper floor, where the walls opened to the outer space. The other four guys had waited there.

They were good in hiding their presence, he thought.

A blinding flash of white light lit up the sky outside. He ignored the thunder, and took a spot in the circle. None of them moved, they just examined him in silence. He studied the expressions on their faces, and in a few seconds he knew that their searching was not a success.

-.-.-

Everybody in Darlian household was aware of their mistress's unusual behavior.

It was three days ago when she came home with wet coat, towels enveloped her slender figure. On the outward, it was a pitieous sight. But she was wearing that adorable, determined look on her face, and there was no sign of weakness, fatigue or complaint in her. She almost looked noble when she was like that.

Her mother welcomed her in, bewailing about her catching a cold, asking her why she didn't use her umbrella. She laughed a little before answering.

"Did you get a chance to see the snow rain, Mother? It was the first snow of the year," she said.

She said no more words, and went upstairs to her chamber. Her soft-spoken mother watched her, wondering what had happened to her daughter. Pagan was the most surprised one, seeing his mistress change suddenly from her usual composed state to quiet, melancholy state, then to cherry, upbeat state all in one day.

The other employees in the house saw it too that night. Their young mistress came into the kitchen after dinner, smiling to herself. The head chef of the house, a kind man in his mid-forties, had been working for Darlian family for a long time. He stared at her for a time, then blinked in confusion.

"Busy?" the look on her face reminded him of a child.

"Oh no, dear," he said with a clear Northern accent, "You are not going to help us with anything tonight."

"Well I am not," she denied with a laugh, "I am going to sleep early tonight."

She skirted to the exit, turning around once more to give praise to the chef for the delicious dinner, and bade the others good-night. She was not there when the employees stared at each other, not knowing what was wrong with their mistress.

But as sudden it came, as sudden it went off.

Her mood had changed again when the following morning came. This time she looked distressed, as if there was an important matter which burdened her. And unfortunately, the burden didn't come off as fast as the last time.

Now, after three days, it was so obvious that one must be blind to not see it.

Her mother examined her daughter during their breakfast, but she didn't seem pay any attention. She only ate very little that morning, and when she put off her knife and fork, her mother decided to try some queries.

"Is there something in your mind, dear?"

She lifted her head immediately, bringing her eyes to her mother. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't. In the end she cut off their eye contact and kept silent.

"No," she answered quietly, "Nothing, Mother…"

Mrs. Darlian obviously didn't believe that. Her daughter was never good in lying, and she could read that there was something in her mind. She was wondering what it was, and why her little girl refused to tell her.

"Are you worrying about your father, darling? You can be sure that he is okay," she assured her, "His plane will definitely arrive safely this evening."

"No, I just…," she looked at her again, but removed her gaze again quickly.

_Now I have made her worry_, she thought regretfully. _But I just can't find a way to tell her…_

"I am going to pick my school bag upstairs," she announced instead, rising from her seat.

Her mother watched her flee through the door. Then she turned to the old butler behind her seat with questioning look on her face. Pagan shook his head a bit, his expression declared that he also failed to understand his young lady.

-.-.-

Heero had wandered aimlessly for hours, spending all his morning to monitor the whole town. The city was calm if compared with his birth land, it was almost irresponsive. The people in this world were numerous, but each was antsy and busy with his own self all day. That made it harder to keep track, but at least they were unconcerned about him. A complete stranger who didn't belong to the town.

He was certainly growing bolder with his act, taking a place in the middle of the busiest spot in town. He hoped his chance to find his target would increase by doing this. He set his eyes to the crowd in front of him.

The town continued buzzing around him nonchalantly. When the mid-day came, he found himself losing his concentration. This world was too bright, too noisy, and too cold. He looked up to the snowing white sky.

_And the sky is also __**not**__ blue_, he thought.

Ah, he compared this world again with his dream. But he never had a chance to see a clear day. It was always cloudy. He wondered whether the colour of the sky would still be the same white when the cloud went away.

He was tempted to fly beyond the clouds and find out himself.

He went rigid when a childish voice called him. He had unintentionally been so careless to drop his guard. Feeling insecure and unsure, he lowered his eyes cautiously. A little girl was staring at him intently.

"Are you lost?"

He didn't give an answer. Partly because of surprise, partly because of confusion. Well, he was not hiding, and he knew exactly where he was. Accordingly, the answer was no. But he didn't know what to do or where to go exactly. Maybe he was lost after all.

As the result, he only stared back at her. The girl grinned widely. Looking at the child, he couldn't help but remembered his past. The little kid he almost killed not too long ago. And then… the girl in his dream.

Their face, hair, and eye colour were different. They didn't have anything similar… except the same innocent smile. This little girl had obviously never known anyone who would hurt her, probably didn't even know that some people could actually hurt her. Just like the girl in his dream. It was totally different with the kid who shrieked out when he was in front of her. He couldn't tell which one was better.

A woman called the girl and hurried towards them.

"Mom!"

"You are not supposed to run off like that," the woman chided with a worried look, "Look, you have disturbed this young man."

"I am not!" she protested with a pout.

The lady took the little girl's hand, then apologized to him before dragged her daughter away. The girl waved her hand to him for – he guessed – saying good bye. He hesitated one second, then replied the gesture stiffly. He felt awkward afterwards.

For the first time since he had the dream, he wondered where the girl in his dream was now. How was the girl after these years? She might have forgotten him after she grew up.

He closed his thought and continued his searching. He eyed each blond girl, unconsciously paying more attention to little girls with smiles on their faces. He sighed internally when he caught himself. It seemed that the dream wouldn't let him free forever.

-.-.-

When she came home that afternoon, she didn't expect that her father was already at home. Her eyes widened when she entered the living room, and her bag was dropped from her hand. She was not able to utter a word, seeing her dear father standing there together with her mother. Mrs. Darlian was the first to see her daughter, smiling tenderly to her direction. Mr. Darlian turned around, and when he caught her eyes his eyes softened passionately.

"I'm home, dear," he greeted with his deep, warm voice.

"Father," she managed to speak the word, "You are back."

"He said that it was supposed to be a surprise, dear," her mother supplied, nudging her husband lightly.

The vice foreign minister raised one brow at his wife. Then he broke a grin.

"Well," he said, opening his both arms, "Where is the welcoming hug from my favourite little girl?"

The using of her nickname made her give her first genuine smile of the day. She dashed towards her father, entering his affectionate embrace. She stayed there, enjoying her father warm arms. And she felt her eyes blur with unshed tears. She was always her father's daughter.

"Relena," her father asked carefully, "Do you want to go with me to a party?"

"What party?" she lifted her eyes curiously, still not letting him go.

"Oh just a semi-formal celebration, and your mother will be with us too," he said warmly.

She stepped backward, disentangled herself to see her father's face clearer. She took some time to consider the sudden offer, unsure whether it was good or not to accept it.

"It will take place tomorrow night, so your school won't be a problem," he added, encouraging her to accept.

She looked at her father face, seeing worry in his eyes. Finding it strange, she eyed her mother who gave her an innocent look and realized that her mother must have told him something about her. Her father was clearly trying to give her some comfort. She smiled at her parents' effort.

"I will be glad to go," she answered solemnly.

"Good, then you may shop for a new dress tomorrow after school," Mr. Darlian smiled widely, "We will have some fun together."

-.-.-

When the sun disappeared below the horizon, he had come to a conclusion. It was useless to continue his search if he couldn't be sure which girl was the princess. He hated to admit it, but he found that Duo was right. It was wiser to call off – _**not to abandon it**_, he mentally corrected Duo's word – their searching until the envoy from Middle Continent came.

He didn't know what choice the others chose but he was going to take a break. At least after this last attempt.

He re-read the poster he got two days ago in his hand. Then he looked to the mansion in front of him.

If he was not mistaken, this was where the party was held tonight.

-.-.-

Her mother had said that the boy in front of her was her childhood friend. She didn't say anything in opposition, but she felt a little bit guilty for not remembering anything about him. So when her parents left her with the boy, she was nervous. She had a nice conversation with him, but still…

She stayed on her spot, but searched for her father with her eyes. Apparently it was true that people with Asia blood had sharp intuition, because he read her very well.

"Looking for the vice foreign minister?" the boy asked with Japanese accent, "He is with my father and the other ambassadors over there."

"Um… thank you," she mumbled, an embarrassed flush rose to her cheeks as the Japanese boy chuckled lowly. He was joking with her.

Shirou-kun was very nice, she thought. She really felt bad not remembering anything about their short childhood time together. But he dismissed it lightly, as he told her his story of not being able to memorize his friends' name properly because of his father's job as Japan's official ambassador. He was moved from one country to the other so many times that he hardly kept up, he said.

"But I remember about you," his black eyes narrowed to thin lines as he smiled, "You are the first girl I have ever met who has golden hair and blue eyes. I used to think that you were _tenshi_."

"_Tenshi_?" she repeated, not understanding what it meant.

"What is the English word for it…?" Shirou tried to describe it, not finding the right word, "You know, the girl who often appears in tales… the one with silk mantilla – in my tales – but is usually pictured with a pair of wings in your tales."

She froze for some seconds, "…you mean angel?"

"Ah! So that is the word," he said happily, "Angel. But now I know that your name is not angel."

She laughed whole heartedly at his joke. Inside, she was relieved that Shirou-kun didn't seem to imply anything with the word. And after spending some time with him, she knew that he was a joker at heart. He joked a lot, but even when he said something hilarious, he didn't have ill-intentions at all. The dark-haired boy was sharp and full of spirit that she began to like him. She offered him an invitation to her birthday party next Saturday and he accepted willingly, making her feel appreciated.

Somehow, she felt familiar with him. Maybe it was because they had been friends before, but she felt the boy reminded her of someone. She smiled sweetly when he excused himself to the group where her father was talking in. She stared to her father's figure.

_Does he remind me of father…?_

They were both kind and friendly, but their physical appearances didn't match.

Speaking of appearances, the dark hair was the one which attracted her most and the black mask he wore gave mysterious impression. Her face fell when she figured out the person whom Shirou-kun reminded her of. The boy from her dreams.

Suddenly the room looked too crowded and she began to have difficulty in breathing. She's better to go out. Where was the restroom?

A waitress pointed the direction for her and she walked through the hallway alone. She was so absorbed in her thought that she was late to realize she had walked too far. The balcony was seen in front of her, the restroom was supposed to be far behind. She half-turned to the hallway but dropped her intention in a second. Some fresh air would be good for her.

So she continued her step to the balcony. The sky was clear tonight and she watched the stars sparkling above her. The limitless sky was amazing, and she felt her problem so small and unimportant. It was silly, even. The one who had wished those dreams of the mysterious guy to stop was her herself, and it exactly happened as she wished. But she was not happy at all. Instead, she was stressing out because of it. She knew it sounded stupid, but she really couldn't help it.

Aaaah… she wanted to get out from this mess. She wanted to fly away.

_Wait._

She blinked at the thought, looking past her shoulder. She wore a backless dress tonight.

_That is probably a great idea._

-.-.-

He was never fond of infiltration, but when he did he had to make sure it ran smoothly.

Heero easily jumped up and caught his hands on the topmost of the wall. He swung himself up, pausing before he landed over the other side of the wall. From high place it was easier to see the whole area and he was choosing the safest entry. The lower room was occupied with many people, maybe he should try the upper floor instead.

So he looked up to the balcony.

And the view he saw made him lose his balance. He did fall from the wall, causing loud sound when he landed in the bushes.

There was a girl in a blue dress, wearing a pair of long white gloves. She wore a mask so he couldn't tell what was the colour of her eyes, but her hair – which was tied up and cascaded to her bare neck and shoulders in loose curls – was definitely blond. And as impossible as it looked, the girl did have a pair of wings spread from her back.

-.-.-

She was startled when a loud noise was heard from the garden below. She closed the balcony door hurriedly, and ran as fast as she could, back to the party room. She was beginning to regret her crazy idea of flying before.

Oh, she hoped that she was only paranoid and no one actually saw her wings.

Fortunately, her parents were ready to go home and were apparently searching for her. She ignored the confused look she received from her father and mother, and half-dragged them towards the doors. They got a sight of Shirou and his father on their way out, Princess Amelia was talking with them. Mr. Darlian stopped his daughter to properly excuse themselves. Mrs. Darlian curtsied a little as final good-bye and Relena imitated her half heartedly. She only smiled stiffly when Shirou-kun deplored her early leave.

She wanted to be out of this place. Quickly.

-.-.-

It took him some time to make a decoy for the guards.

When it was safe again, the girl had disappeared from the balcony. Heero cursed his recklessness, he never made such foolish mistake before. He climbed to the balcony and spelled the locked door open. He took a peep to the hall, feeling disappointed to find it empty. He walked through the hallway, slowly at first. Then his pace quickened with increasing urgency, and brand new hope filled his heart.

He didn't think twice to enter the crowded room, abandoning secrecy, determined to find the girl. His hope was smashed when he found so many masked ladies in the room, and most of them were blond.

-.-.-

Relena had begun to calm herself when the car started to run. She was overreacted. The noise she heard was probably nothing. Maybe just a dog ran after a squirrel or something, Shirou-kun had told her that Princess Amelia had many dogs in the house.

Whatever it was, it had been over and she was now safe. She should be grateful for that.

She relaxed on her seat and took a relieved breath. Her parents, who sat on her left and right side, eyed her curiously. She smiled, her burden had been forgotten because of the shocking event.

"Tonight is very entertaining," she stated cheerily.

"We are glad that you enjoy this night," replied her parents.

She felt she was turning back to her usual self as she told them her conversation with her Japanese childhood friend. Shirou-kun was a good friend, and she was looking forward to meet him again at her birthday party next Saturday.

-.-.-

He had examined all girls inside the room two times already.

Heero searched throughout the mansion and still didn't find a single clue about the girl. Then he went back into the room and tried his third attempt of searching.

The one who was called "princess" was named Amelia, and although she was also clad in blue dress, he was sure that she was not the one he saw before. The girl he saw was more slender, a little bit pale, and definitely… younger by some years.

He let out a defeated sigh and went back to the hallway. He was starting to doubt his self. Was he imagining things? Was she just a hallucination which was caused by his desperation?

He pushed the door open with his hand, this time not using his magic. His head hung low of disappointment… he really wasn't himself tonight. But the actions which were out of his habit apparently brought a benefit this time.

He found a feather on the balcony, squeezed between the steel frame of the door and the marble floor. It was rather big for a normal feather, but he still couldn't be sure. So he flicked a flame with his finger and tried to burn its edge. He was met with another surprise.

Instead of being burnt, the feather glowed up and split up to some pieces. In the end it turned entirely into silvery light and disappeared without a trace. He froze at his spot.

So he was not dreaming after all.

-.-.-

Being alone was lonely sometimes, especially after spending all night in a hectic party like tonight.

Later, late in the night, Relena spent some time to watch the sky again, this time from her bedroom. She knew that the images about the boy in her head had begun to fade, and she wondered whether all those dreams would end just like this. She stared absent-mindedly to the sky, unknown sadness made her heart hurt. The entire universe was shimmering above her, soothing the ache a little.

_Will I see him again in my dream?_

She asked the question which was haunting her these past days to the night, not finding an answer.

She didn't have any idea that there was one more person who watched the same sky that night, not being able to sleep. A certain boy who was restless to find her. The stars only twinkled with an innocent sense of conspiracy above the girl and the boy.

Once again, a masquerade helped a heroine to flee from pursuit. And the secret stayed hidden for one more night.

-.-.-

End of Chapter Three

~o~

**A/N : Dear all, don't hesitate to scold me if I mess something up, especially my grammar. T_T**

I think I owe you all little explanation here. Um, like I had written before in my previous Arc Ficlet, if there was something in my story that you didn't understand, you might assume by yourself. I guarantee it's safe, and I won't be angry or what. (smile)

But for you who desire my personal explanation (this is especially for you, dear JasLine!) here I give one.

**-The Worlds-**

_"When do dreams become reality? Those two are, literally, two worlds apart... but an impossible attraction binds them together." _

_Chapter Two : Attraction_

Yes, they come from two different worlds. Heero comes from a world called _Terris_, my personal creative imagination's work. On the other hand, Relena lives in _Earth_. Our blue _Earth_, simple and normal. I am not that creative to build two worlds in one time! (laughs) Our current setting is _Earth_, but we will move to _Terris_ later, after at least one more chapter. At that time I promise I will give more detailed description of the world.

**-New Characters-**

Um, did anyone notice two extra characters in this chapter? 'Princess' _Amelia_ is a mature woman, beautiful, sophisticated… well she does win a beauty contest in my story. (winks) Oh, I don't mind if you borrow her, but don't touch my _Shirou_! My other character, _Shirou_, is copyrighted by me. He is basically normal Japanese boy, fluent in many languages because of his father job. He is pure and has sensitive intuition, but he is not a shy at all. I think his most alluring point is the dark colour of his hair and eyes, how it changes to different shades, complimenting his handsome Asian face each time he talks or laughs. Attractive young man, don't you think? Whoa, whoa Heero's fans, calm down! As much as I love my character, _Shirou_ is not the main character, and my heart is still set to make this a 1xR story. Anyways, _Shirou_ will still have one important role later in this story. Oh, this is going to be a lot of fun!

So… that's my third chapter. Dear readers, what do you think, is my story too slow? Or is it too fast? To tell you the truth, this whole story is getting bigger than my original script. I need some time to arrange my ideas. Send me suggestions! Each opinion counts for something!

* * *

**Additional Guidance (skip this if you had already known) :**

The green button below which is read "Review this Story/Chapter" is the one you must click if you want to leave me something. The left text-box which is read "Add story to favourites" has a little black triangle sign on it. Click on it and choose "Add story to Story Alert" if you want to be notified when I update the next chapter of _Wings_.

* * *

What? The next chapter? Oh don't you worry about it, they will surely face each other again.

But their next meeting will not happen in a dream.

_**"Her perfect world was shattering to pieces, and when she turned to her dream, her only solace, she found it was no longer there." **_

_**(Chapter Four : Shattered)**_

Check my profile if you want to see my writing status. Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter Four : Shattered

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : Does anyone know that we can read all the reviews of any stories openly by just clicking the red link 'reviews' beside the PenName of the author? I have just figured it out recently. Waah… don't give me that look! It may be obvious but how am I supposed to know if no one ever tells me? (mumbles pitiful excuses)**

**Anyways, I took a time yesterday to check my mailbox and clear my old mails. When I reached the mails of reviews and alerts from the net regarding **_**Wings**_**, I was reluctant. I had known at that time, that we can open the reviews page anytime, but I still couldn't bring myself to push the delete button. Coming fresh in my mind, those times when I found the review emails in my mailbox, how the overflowing joy filled me, how each word in each mail encouraged me. So, I guess I am going to let the whole mails stay in my mailbox as eternal data, or at least until my mailbox overloads because of numerous reviews (ah, such a far away dream…)**

**I just realize that all readers of **_**Wings**_** are happened to be kind-hearted person. Recently I found out that not every story got positive response, and I somehow felt sad. On the other hand, I am now grateful that I have some keen reviewers, in additional to wonderful readers. Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story!**

**Special thanks to my latest reviewers : dearest Illico, Storms-winter, Akumetsu, and JasLine. This chapter is especially for you!**

This is a long chapter. I decide to not split it to maintain the continuous pace throughout the story. A warning for you, this will contain drastic turn-event and mild angst. But my rating is still K+, so you don't have to worry much. Enjoy!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Four : Shattered_

~o~

**shatter** _v_ (_pt_, _pp_ **shattered**) **1** [I,T] break suddenly into small pieces **2 **[T] shock **3** [T] (_infml_) (usu passive) tire

* * *

_**~"For you yourselves know… that the Day will come like a thief in the night."~**_

_**

* * *

**Is it because I have seen her that I now believe?_

So this was the difference between those who had seen and those who had never seen. At the time, when the elders gave them this mission to find the princess, even though they had stated that she was alive in this place, there was still a minuscule uncertainty in him. In the deepest part of his mind, he wondered whether it was true, or if it was just a well-told rumor.

The elders, who had seen the princess through their divination, had a certain degree of faith. If they didn't, they wouldn't take the risk of sending the best soldiers they had in their possession to a journey with no assurance of return.

And now, he had seen the image himself. As short the image flashed, as impossible as it looked, his eyes had seen it. Causing a change in his belief, the image he saw. Whatever uncertainty he had in him, it all dissolved to evanescence.

And it delivered a new trouble.

Since he saw the girl with a pair of wings on that night, he had been searching without taking a single break. He didn't mean to, really, but every time he got a glimpse of golden hair he went all fired up with the urge to chase. The crazy thing was… he still didn't have any clue to find his target. So all his searching was useless in fact.

This was the first time he couldn't have his mind under control. He was desperate.

This… was illogical. Damn the girl for appearing in front of him when he was just about to call off his search. Instead of waiting the envoy from the Middle Continent as he planned before, he was now searching like crazy.

Heero opened his eyes, abandoning his effort to sleep. The dawn had come, and he had officially spent another night without proper rest. He stood up, watching the orange blur lit the pale horizon, the dim ray touched the town below.

She was here, somewhere. And he wanted to find her, although he didn't know where the obsession came from.

-.-.-

Today was Saturday.

Since she had no school today, Relena had spent her morning together with the employees of her house to make a preparation. For her birthday party, which would be held this afternoon.

She smiled as she continued mixing the pasty mass in the big bowl. Early in the morning, her father had taken his chance to be the first who congratulate her on her bed. The second was, of course, her mother.

Being a gentleman he was, her father bought her a white carnation bouquet – a symbol of pure love, as well as a good luck charm – and placed a kiss on her forehead. Her mother hugged her and kissed both of her cheeks. Her father apologized that he must attend some meetings today, and so he wasn't able to help her with preparation. She was fine with it, actually. But her parents declared that she would go shopping this afternoon, then her father would pick her up and they would come home together, to her party, as compensation.

She stopped stirring, and giggled slightly. They spoiled her too much.

The maids and the chef in the kitchen looked at her smile, feeling grateful for their mistress' good mood. Each time she beamed or laughed cheerily, the entire house was lit by her happiness. Their mistress never realized herself, but she always had that effect to the people around her.

-.-.-

He needed to be extra careful today.

Trowa had contacted the rest of them, stating that the envoys from Middle Continent had finally come. He didn't give any description, but Heero was confident that he could recognize the envoys without much difficulty. Just like their enemies could recognize him as easily.

He should stay low from now on. Or else a fight which couldn't be avoided was going to happen.

Midday was past when the preparation had been completed.

It turned out that their shopping ended earlier than they predicted. So, she and her mother went home by themselves, not waiting for her father like their original plan.

At home, her mother insisted that she should try on her new dress, making herself busy to set her hair style. She obeyed her without complaint, slightly amused with her mother's enthusiasm.

Relena glanced at the clock when she had finished her "modeling session" with her mother. It was almost noon. Her father's meeting should end soon.

"Mother," she called, "May I go with Pagan to meet father?"

"Why, dear," replied her mother, "He will be here immediately, you don't have to…"

"I want to give him surprise," she supplied, cutting her mother's words, smiling innocently, "You both have given me one this morning, with the carnation bouquet."

Her mother smiled at the sentence.

"Then go to the Department of Foreign Affairs, dear," her mother said, "He is most probably in his office now."

-.-.-

_Of all the most unfortunate events_, Heero cursed in the middle of his run. _How can they spot me this fast?_

So, it didn't take him long to find the searching group from the Middle Continent. He had decided to trail them, hoping to find some clue. At first he thought that the group would focus all their attention to search for their princess and ignored his presence. Instead, it turned out that they were searching for him and the other four more than the princess herself.

Their dreamseers should have seen this in their vision, and so the envoys had been warned about him and the other four. No wonder Trowa couldn't give more detailed information, he simply couldn't get near enough. If he did stalk them, he would be chased as result. Like him now.

It was a dead-end. Exactly as he wanted.

He stopped his run and turned around to face his pursuers. Now that they had been in a desolate alley, he was permitted to give a fight.

-.-.-

She peeked into her father's office. No one was in there.

_Well, that's strange_, she thought.

A sound of clearing throat was heard from her back, surprised her. She closed the door and turned around quickly. A man with short platinum blond hair raised a brow at her.

"Sir Charles!"

"To what do I owe the pleasure of an angel's visit this afternoon?" the man asked her, his green eyes glinted with amusement.

She grinned at his excessive choice of words. Charles Trent, her father's personal assistant, was always a smooth-talker.

"I am planning to give my father a surprise visit," she explained, "But it appears that he is not here this afternoon."

"Oh," he replied, "Then you should go to The Embassy of West Asia. And I suggest you hurry, my lady, because his meeting is supposed to be finished soon."

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, turning around to begin her walk.

"Just a minute, young lady," he stopped her by holding her shoulder.

"Yes, Sir Charles?" she turned curiously.

She was surprised when he took her right hand and bowed to place a kiss on the top of her hand.

"Happy birthday, milady," he gave her a warm smile. She gave him a full curtsey and a 'thank you' before she went out of the building with a grin on her face.

Really, she had begun to think that today was the most perfect day of her life. Now she just hoped that her father was still in the Embassy, so they could come home together.

Pagan had just parked the pink limo at the Embassy's park lot when she saw a glimpse of her father's figure. He was standing near the front doors with some men, bound in a serious conversation. A black Rolls Royce was waiting for them, an attendant in white uniform and black _turban_ opened the doors for the politicians.

"You won't call your father, miss?" Pagan asked her from his seat in the front.

"I think it is better not to disturb him," she replied, watching her father enter the expensive car, "Do you mind if we just follow the car, Pagan?"

"As you wish, miss Relena."

-.-.-

Heero took his step to retreat, as his enemies were trapped in the middle of the smoke. Since he had taken down some men, their force was cut in half. He doubted they would take the risk to pursue him.

But for extra pre-caution, he made sure that he didn't leave any trace behind, before he went from the alley and disappeared into the crowds.

-.-.-

A loud sound of explosion was heard from Mr. Darlian's car.

Relena watched in terror, the black car lost control and spun on the street, then got struck by another car from the opposite direction. She didn't have a chance to scream, because the accident caused the other cars on the street fall into disarray, resulting a chain of cars colliding that instant.

Pagan evaded a dangerous crash with a big truck by making a sudden curve. But the pink limo couldn't escape the collision with the front wall of an apartment. The hard hit forced the car to stop moving, but the front rear of the limo was damaged severely.

She opened her eyes slowly, feeling dizzy. Her head got an impact from the collision, and she needed some seconds to make her eye-sight focused. She went panic when she realized that the front seat was dented, calling her old butler worriedly.

She was relieved when she heard an answer from Pagan. She helped him to go out of the broken limo. Pagan had a difficulty walking, it seemed that his leg was broken when the car crashed into the wall. But she didn't realize the fact, as her mind was occupied with her father's safety.

As soon as she got a sight of her father's black Rolls Royce, she ran to the direction. Pagan tried to stop her, saying it was too dangerous to come near, that the car could explode in any minutes. But with his injured leg, he was not able to restrain his mistress. And he knew better to force another attempt, knowing that when his young lady had that determined look in her eyes, she was unstoppable.

-.-.-

When he heard a loud sound of explosion, Heero went to the source of the noise as fast as possible.

In a single glance, he could tell that the cause of that mess was the black metal cart near the tall pole. Black smoke was coming from its front part, and flame had started to burn some parts of the seat. He, with his knowledge of flame and fire, knew that the thing would explode in a huge blast soon. And the other people surely knew that fact too, as the crowds went to a fair distance, running for a cover, saving their own lives.

Except one girl.

The girl was running towards the spot, looking unfazed with the danger of explosion. He watched her intently. She tried to open the door, but it seemed that the door was locked from inside. He was surprised when the girl took a piece of iron stick and used it to smash the front window. The glass was shattered after some blows, and she quickly stretched her hand – ignoring the injuries which were caused by the sharp edge of the glass – to reach the lock of the back door. He was amazed when the door opened successfully.

Some men came out from the cart, and he could hear the girl's voice calling for her father. Heero held his breath when a pop noise came out from the metal cart. The thing would explode now, and the girl was still inside!

He ran towards the spot, but it was too late. A huge explosion came, the fire went up until it reached the roof height. Some women screamed and the crowds covered their eyes with their hands. He had thought that the girl had been consumed by the fire.

He focused his gaze to the spot, the light was blinding for most of people, but not for him. Since he had been used to flame and explosion, his eyesight was not affected and he could see the spot clearly.

His eyes widened and he couldn't manage to do anything except stare. It was impossible, but there was a figure standing in the middle of the explosion. And the person was not burnt by the fire at all.

Her yellow sweater was torn up, especially the sleeves, smudged by dirt and smeared with blackened blood. He noticed some drops of blood trickled down from the open wound, scrutinizing the lines of blood drying around her right ear as he paid more attention to her face.

His heart stopped when he recognized the girl.

It was her, supporting an unconscious man, barely succeeding to stand straight. Around her, a fade circle of light protecting her from the flame. The fire was bright around her, but her figure illuminated more brightly than any lights. He watched in awe as the man's injuries began to close wherever she touched her hands.

_There is no mistake_, he thought. _It is her._

-.-.-

The ambulance had finally come.

Her father was still unconscious, and she found it hard to let him go from her embrace. She never had a chance to heal him entirely, she only managed to do very little to his wounds when they were in the explosion. Unfortunately, the explosion didn't last long enough, and she couldn't use her powers openly in public like this. It would attract too much unwanted attention.

It was after Pagan held her shoulder and told her to let go, she was able to let the medical staff take her father into the ambulance. Truthfully, she believed in her healing powers more than the entire medical staff. But for now she didn't have any choice except let the medics take care of her dear father.

Oh, they mustn't let him die!

The old butler gave her a backward hug, and she finally let herself cry. More ambulances come to treat the victims' wounds, and at that time she realized that Pagan suffered an open-fractured leg. How did she not see that before?

She was blaming herself during their trip to the hospital, forgetting about her own injury. When they arrived at the hospital, Pagan – understanding his mistress' worry – insisted that they should know about Mr. Darlian's condition before had their wounds treated.

They found out that he was in critical condition. Relena only stared to the ICU's closed doors with a blank expression. Enduring the pain from his leg, Pagan stood beside her, not saying a word. He felt sorry for his young mistress, and for his master too. Such a tragedy occurred on his mistress' birthday.

Why did it have to be him? Why did it have to happen today?

A nurse came a moment later, telling them to have a treatment. He needed to help the nurse force his mistress to go, as she refused to leave the place. It took all his strength to make her obeyed in the end.

-.-.-

Heero stood in front of the hospital, feeling unsure whether he's better to go in or not.

After thinking for a while, he decided to wait outside. The girl wouldn't go anywhere as long as she was in the building, so he just needed to watch over the exits.

Waiting at his hidden spot, he thought about the girl. He was surprised when he found out that the girl was the same girl whom he had met when he first arrived in this world, the one who had blond hair and blue eyes. Was this just a coincidence?

Set the fact aside, he had seen the entire event which was happened during the explosion. Accordingly, he was certain that the girl had strange kind of powers.

She wasn't an ordinary girl. For that he could be sure.

He had no proof of his other speculation. But after his long searching, this was the only clue he got.

He ought not to let it escape.

-.-.-

She couldn't believe this. This plot was too dramatic to be happened.

She had always thought that her father's blood type was A. But when the nurses came and asked her blood type to make a transfusion for her father, they were searching for O positive blood.

An accident, a request for transfusion, exactly like what usually happened in films. And just like that she discovered that her parents might not be her biological parents. Her blood type was A. Her mother's blood type was B. And now it revealed that her father's blood type was O. It was too easy to draw a conclusion.

Relena tried her best not to go into hysteric. Her father's condition was still unstable, and she still needed to make a call to her mother. But inside, she was broken to pieces. She bit her lips, gripping her arms which were trembling slightly with fierce force. She ignored the pain, the bandage around her lower arms was soaked with blood as the wounds opened up again.

She heard footsteps.

She straightened her sitting position, using the back of her hands to wipe some of the tears away. Then she lifted her head to see who was coming. They were some men in blue and black uniform.

The police.

They asked her to go with them to their place, most probably to ask some questions about the details of the accident. She was sure that it was no accident, that a kind of explosive should be the cause of the sudden blast. Her father was the vice foreign minister, there was a high chance of him being a target of assassination. She would make sure the police knew that.

So she stood up and told them that she needed some time before she went with them. She would tell Pagan first, then called her mother… Oh maybe it was better if she asked Pagan to do it for her. She was unsure whether she could maintain calm when she talked with her mother.

_No!_ She shook her head, holding back her tears. _Father will survive for sure._

She walked through the silent hall of the hospital in quick steps. She took a breath to calm her emotion before opened the door of Pagan's room. She had decided to hide the fact about the blood type for a while.

-.-.-

She was out.

Heero nearly jumped up in surprise when he saw a glimpse of her. A number of men surrounded her, but he was sure that there was nothing wrong with his eye-sight.

The yellow sweater… long golden hair… those blue eyes… He locked his gaze to her figure, confirming her features. White bandages covered her head and arms, but yes, it was definitely her.

He felt strange to find her with those strangers, not with the old butler from before. But since she didn't show any uneasiness, he guessed it was nothing unusual. He watched her get into another metal cart together with those men. How he supposed to trail after them?

He took a distance, not letting the metal cart out of his sight. He looked up for some way to go to the roof top. Nothing.

So he chose to take a risk.

Making sure no one was around, he spread his wings and quickly soared to the sky. From the up high he stayed a safe distance away and followed the group tightly.

-.-.-

"Where will we go, mister?" Relena asked curiously, "The way to the police station is not this way."

The man beside her looked back at her.

"We will not go there," he answered quietly.

Her blood went cold. These guys were not the cops.

-.-.-

A man broke into his room. Pagan eyed the man cautiously.

"Sir Trent! What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, he asked in tight voice, "Where is Relena?"

Pagan sensed something wrong had happened. The usually playful Charles Trent never called his mistress by her given name, he always preferred some silly pet names to address her.

"She is not here, sire," Pagan answered, "Some police came and took her to their office."

Those words didn't calm him, he even looked more distressed. He took out his cell phone and barked a command to send a searching team immediately. Pagan knew that this was not a good thing.

"Sire?" the old man asked worriedly, "What's going on?"

"Pagan, where is Mrs. Darlian?" he turned to him, still holding the cell phone.

"She is at home. I called her just now, she was about to go here."

"Call her again now, tell her to wait until I come to fetch her," the urgency in the younger man's voice surprised him.

"Yes sire," he obeyed him faithfully.

But when the young politician went to open the door, he stopped him. He must know what was happening.

"Mr. Darlian's accident did not happen by chance. I just got news that there was a group of police who was beaten down by some strangers," he explained, "Most probably extremists who oppose Mr. Darlian's ideas."

Pagan was shocked, "So miss Relena…?"

He closed his eyes and nodded sadly, "I think she has been kidnapped."

-.-.-

This was strange, really really strange.

Heero followed the group until he arrived in an empty field outside the town. He landed quietly and hid in the shades of some trees as the metal cart parked itself in the middle of the field. He didn't expect the group to go away from the town. What did they want to do in this quiet place?

He choked down his gasp when the metal cart melted down. An illusion. And a neatly hidden one too, since he couldn't see such an obvious magic in front of his eyes.

_Who in this world are these people?_

The men, still clad in their previous uniform, stood there. The girl, on the other hand, lied down unconsciously. He watched them in suspense as one of the men started to draw a magic circle on the ground. A strong wind blew, and the sky above them opened, revealing a sight of perfect blue sky.

He knew that this wasn't the time for that, but he couldn't stop a sense of longing running through him. He stared at the blue sky, trying to save the view into his memory. So this was the world where the girl from his dream lived in.

But he didn't have time to think about his dream, as the magic circle had been finished. A spell worked almost instantly, opening a blurry crack in the empty air.

_A dimensional gate._ His eyes widened in realization. _The envoys from Middle Continent._

He stared to the group, finding it hard to believe. _But they look exactly like normal people from this world!_

A man lifted the unconscious girl, and the group walked into the crack. He watched they disappeared one by one. He hesitated for a minute, feeling unsure about his next action. Should he go after them?

He took some seconds to stare to the blue sky again, scowling slightly. So short the time he had spent in this peaceful world. Then he dashed towards the dimensional gate, which was closing slowly.

He still had no valid evidence and he might make a wrong assumption, but he entered the crack in solid determination. He had bet on the slight possibility, following the voice of his mind.

He didn't know that when he made the decision, he had chosen his path of destiny.

-.-.-

…

_It was a restless dream she had._

_Everything around her was pitch black, and the land on her feet was not solid. The air was hot, as if invisible flame was flaming up everywhere. She tried to run, but her legs felt weak. The darkness surrounded her, and she felt like screaming._

_No one was there, no one was going to save her._

…

-.-.-

When Relena opened her eyes again, she saw a foreign pattern of ceiling.

Her mind was still fuzzy. She found it difficult to maintain consciousness. Where was this place?

When she tried to sit up, her head spun, blurring her sight. The flame, the darkness… the dream was coming fresh to her mind. She felt her stomach flipping. Immediately she clasped her hand to her mouth, breathing erratically.

"So you have been awake."

She snapped her head to the source of voice, gasping slightly as her headache went worse because of the sudden movement.

"Take it easy my princess," the man spoke again, "It seems that the sleeping spell hasn't worn off entirely."

She fought to steady her spinning head. "Who are you?"

The man smiled mischievously. "My name is Treize Khushrenada."

"You won't have any profit by keeping me hostage," she said, remembering the group of police who turned out to be terrorists. At least according to her assumption.

"Hostage? What makes you think like that?" he asked, acting to be hurt, "I apologize for my rude invitation, princess, but I don't intend to hurt you at heart."

"I don't believe you," she replied, "…and why do you keep calling me that?"

"Calling you what?" the young man asked, tilting his head towards her, "Princess?"

Relena glared at the man, but not giving him an answer.

"Well apparently we need to have a long talk then," the conceited smirk slipped again, "And the first thing we need to talk about is your title, my princess."

He stood up from his cozy seat and walked towards her place on the huge bed. Relena stiffened in her sitting position.

"My pleasure to assist you," he bowed elegantly, but his eyes showed no respect, just a glint of his obvious self-confidence, "Princess Relena Peacecraft of Sanq."

-.-.-

So the envoys from Middle Continent were Romafeller pawns.

It turned out that his instinct was correct, and the dimensional portal led him back to Terris. He had followed the group until he reached Romafeller land. But now he was stuck outside, having no way to skirt into the castle.

He would come in, he decided. He had spent the night to find a way to go inside, and the dawn was now coming. There was still some time before the sun rose, he would take the advantage of the darkness.

He needed to make sure that the supposed-to-be-princess was in there.

-.-.-

Did the man think that she would believe his story?

Relena stood up from her bed, not being able to sleep in spite of her dizziness. A different dimension, an ancient kingdom, and now she was the princess?

This was ridiculous, either this was a very bad humor or a strange hallucination, she couldn't tell. When the morning came, she would wake up on her own bed, and found that all of this was just a nightmare.

So she stood near the tall glass window, which was half-opened to a wide balcony, watching the scenery outside. It was nearly black, but she could tell that the morning would come soon.

_Please_, she begged to the sky. _Tell me that all of this is not real._

-.-.-

He decided to come in from the upper floor.

The window there was half opened, and it looked like no one was in there. He had beaten two soldiers at the entrance, and now he was hiding in the castle's garden. The other guards were coming, and they would find those unconscious soldiers in no time.

This was the time to go.

He climbed up slowly towards the balcony, noticing the commotion which was heard from below. They had found out about his penetration. Damn.

He swung himself up to the balcony, landing with no sound. Then he widened the opened window, hoping to find a place to hide.

"Who?"

To say that he was scared to death was an understatement. He gave his automatic reaction, swinging his sword to the source of the voice. He forced himself to stop in mid track, realizing that his target didn't give any opposition.

He didn't expect that there was someone hiding in the curtains, moreover that the someone was the girl herself. The result? He froze. No, they both froze.

The girl eyed the edge of his sword which almost touched her neck, then eyed him. He held his breath, didn't dare to move a muscle, she just continued to stare at him. He was amazed to find strength in her stare.

Several knocks were coming from the doors. Heero snapped his head towards the direction, starting to panic. Those were the soldiers.

"Take a place behind the door leaf," he heard the girl speak up, "And stay quiet."

He blinked at her, confused.

"Hurry. Or they will find you, won't they?"

He was still unsure, but he did as he was told. Well, in the worst case he would have to fight his way to flee from here.

He sensed she opened the door, facing the soldiers.

"What do you want?" he heard her ask the soldiers.

"We are sorry to interrupt in this early morning, princess, but there is someone who beat our front guards and come into this castle," one of the soldiers spoke up, "We need to check the room."

She opened the door wider, taking such position between him and the door leaf, so that he couldn't be seen by the soldiers.

"You may look by yourself."

The soldiers were hesitating, but one of them decided to take a peek into the empty room.

"So, now that you have finished your duty, I want you to leave my room," she spoke in a regal tone, "Return to your post. Now."

"Y-yes your highness!" they stuttered in answering.

She closed the doors behind her, and Heero heard the footsteps went farther.

_What a show_, he thought. _So she is a princess after all._

But his calm state didn't last long. Now that the soldiers had gone, he was confronting the girl… alone. Silently he made a comparison in his head. And he decided that it was, somehow, more frightening than facing the whole soldiers of the castle at once. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the position to choose.

He felt nervous when she locked her gaze with his. Those blue eyes were as unabashed as ever.

-.-.-

Relena eyed the sword in his hand, feeling curious about this mysterious boy.

"You may put down the sword," she said slowly.

When the boy didn't response, she spoke up again.

"…or you are here to bring me harm?"

The boy drew in a sharp breath, then put down his sword on the floor. She watched him standing up quietly. Truthfully, she didn't expect him to follow her, just like she didn't expect the soldiers to follow her command before. Inside, Relena breathed a sigh of relief. So he was not a bad guy after all.

"So what will you do now?"

She asked without hoping for an answer. As the matter of fact he hadn't uttered a single word since he came in. So she was a little bit surprised when he spoke up.

"I will…" he paused, looking unsure about his choice of words. "…go."

"Outside?" she asked again. He nodded.

They walked to the balcony again, finding that the commotion down there hadn't died down yet. She faced the boy again.

"So, you should wait."

The boy blinked at her. "If you don't mind."

His serious expression showed that he really meant his words. She wondered whether the boy would really jump off and break through the commotion if she showed any objection.

She wanted to laugh at the thought, and wanted to cry in the same time. This was crazy. Really. Where was her usual bedroom, her usual morning, her usual world?

She averted her gaze to the horizon, noticing that the sun had risen up. Fear stabbed her heart when she saw that the sky was reddish orange, not blue as usual. The morning had come, and she didn't wake up from this dream. She couldn't hold back her tears, thinking about her dear father and mother, her devoted butler, her friends… this was too much for her to take.

She cried her heart out, trying to be as silent as she could. The boy stammered uneasily behind her. Maybe he was surprised of her sudden cry.

"Why do you cry?" he spoke the question in broken words, "Do your wounds hurt?"

She blinked at the question, just realizing that her arms and her head were still bandaged. But she couldn't find her voice, so she just shook her head to say no. But he didn't seem to believe her. His gaze was locked to the white bandages, and he looked like he was thinking about something.

"If it is hurt… can't you… heal it?"

-.-.-

The girl snapped her head up, gaping at him.

Did he choose wrong choice of words?

"You know me," she said with her trembling voice, her tears were still flowing, but she started to calm herself, "Do I know you?"

He felt a pang of disappointment, but cursed the feeling a second later. Of course she didn't recognize him.

Heero continued staring at her, unable to give any answer. The girl scrutinized him, and he was fidgeting uneasily.

"Do you come from my world?"

Well not exactly, but… "I have been there."

"Do you know… a way back? I want to go home."

He hated to break the hopeful stare, but he needed to tell the truth. "No."

The tears rolled down again, she was sobbing slightly.

"Is that why you cry?" he asked, trying to be gentle.

"I-I am worried…" she answered in the middle of her crying. "…about my father…"

Her voice broke in the end and she couldn't manage to say any more words. And so he spent the morning trying to comfort the crying girl. He didn't know if he did the right thing, since he was silent for almost the whole time, but he really tried his best.

-.-.-

Relena stared at the direction where the boy went to a while ago.

He was no longer caught by her eye-sight, but she still stared to the empty space, lost in her thought.

Now after he had left, she began to feel uneasy. She usually didn't talk to strangers, moreover cried in front of them. Then again, she never cried in front of people. Well, with the exception of her parents, and maybe Pagan, but never in front of anybody else. The act was too… private for someone besides her closest ones.

It was true that she had been through such a hard day, a nightmare, a hell. But still… it was… embarrassing to let an outsider see her tears.

She shook the thought out of her head. Those incoherent thoughts wouldn't help her any.

She took a deep breath, averting her eyes to the foreign sky, observing its strange colour. She felt better after crying out her whole burden, although she felt sorry to bother the boy. He was very silent and stiff all the time, a reminiscence to her that he was a stranger. But the boy was kind enough to stay during her cry, and she silently thanked him for that.

-.-.-

He stole another glance at the castle before he walked away.

The infiltration went… unusually, but at least he managed to confirm that the princess was really in the castle.

It was the fact, but he had a feeling of doing something wrong, leaving a mission undone. The feeling disturbed his mind, causing an annoying aggravation. He continued his walk through the forest, trying not to think about the event anymore. The infiltration had taken longer time than his estimation, now he should focus to what to do next.

"Oi, Heero."

Enough.

He had fed up with this kind of unexpected events, just how many surprises happened in one day?

The source of the call was Duo, walking towards his spot. He wanted to spit him at first, but canceled his intention after he saw his face. The guy apparently had the same vexation. "Do you manage to find the princess?"

He nodded. And the braided guy started to wail. He grumbled about being the last who knew the news, about how he had almost been left in another world, about his encounter with the injured envoys who had been beaten by Heero before…

Heero stayed silent during his ravings, not bothering to give him reaction. But when he talked about strange explosion in the middle of the town and the failed attempt of an assassination… the sentence caught his attention.

"What did you say before?" he cut off the rambling.

"Wha?" Duo paused, confused. "About how I chose a wrong thing for my investigation?"

"No, about the assassination," he replied shortly.

"Ha? Well yeah what did I say?"

"You said that it was a _failed_ assassination," Heero supplied impatiently. "Does the man manage to survive?"

"Yeah of course!" Duo pulled a face. "Or else I will call it a _successful_ assassination."

Heero ignored the sarcasm – or the very bad humor, whatever – and turned his back on him. He needed to tell someone about the news.

"Oi! Where are you going?" called the braided guy, totally annoyed. "You insensitive inconsiderate jerk!"

He turned around in his track, walking back towards the guy. Duo sweat-dropped.

"Egh, man… I was only joking…"

"You come with me."

Heero ignored his confused questions as he dragged the braided guy with him towards the castle.

-.-.-

He really couldn't understand this guy, Duo grumbled in his mind. He had practically ignored him when he bewailed about his unfortunate experiences, and then suddenly dragged him without giving a single explanation. Moreover to an enemy base like this Romafeller castle!

Following him to climb up to the balcony, he mentally decided that the guy was an insane man. This guy was dangerous, and he'd better maintain a distance with him.

-.-.-

Relena was surprised when the boy came back again to her room.

"You came back!" she exclaimed, then covered her mouth with her hand as she made sure that her doors were still locked. "Do you have something left here?"

"No," he answered, "But I have news about your father."

-.-.-

Duo's sulking expression fell when he saw the girl whom Heero talked with.

_Waow, is she the princess?_

The girl had long honey blond hair and a pair of clear blue eyes, exactly like what the old men had told them. But they didn't mention that she was such a pretty girl!

If not for the bandage which covered her head and arms, he would guess that she was a ghost or something. The girl was slender and really, _really_ pale. She wore a white dress, and even the white fabric was still contrast with her porcelain skin. The only colour that could be seen from her was her shimmering blond hair, and her blue eyes. Then the fade rosy colour of her cheeks and her pink lips…

Indeed, her ghostly beauty was stunning.

The girl was eyeing him now, and he was surprised to find such strength in those eyes. Exactly the opposite of her fragile appearance, her focused gaze was undeterred. He found himself stuttering when she asked him.

"Do you know my father?"

Gee, even her voice was melodic. But he didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so he just eyed Heero, pleading for a help.

"Her father." Heero supplied, "The target of the assassination."

He was confused hearing the 'father' part. The girl was the princess, wasn't she? Did she mean… oh! He closed his mouth abruptly when the realization struck in.

_Must be her adoptive father in the other world_, he thought.

"O-ow…" He finally spoke up, "Well not really but yeah…"

"Is he alive?"

"Eh," he paused, "Yes."

Those blue eyes were blurred with tears. "Really?"

Duo panicked at the sight, rambling unconsciously.

"The tall man, dark brown hair, bushy beard?" He tried to describe, and the girl nodded vigorously. "Yes he is alive."

She broke down crying at the sentence, and Duo felt at loss about what to do. He was surprised when the girl took both of his hands and shook it a little, muttering her gratitude as she continued to cry. He gave an uneasy smile to the princess of the supposed-to-be enemy side and lifted his head to his supposed-to-be comrade, hoping he would give him a hand.

He gaped when he saw what he thought he really saw.

Not just gaping, his jaw simply dropped to the floor.

The stoic, mute and deaf – well he was quiet and impassive for almost the whole time – boy was smiling slightly. His gaze upon the girl was warm and tender, and he almost looked happy seeing her relieved.

Duo wondered inwardly whether a thunder storm would occur today.

-.-.-

Duo didn't say a single word during their walk back.

And Heero felt like he was on his edge. He had thought that the braided guy didn't have the ability to shut his mouth, so it was odd that he was this silent for so long time.

"So…"

Ah, so he began to talk at last. Heero turned around to face the boy, preparing himself for any questions he would throw.

"I am willing to take your position to stalk the princess," he shrugged, "That's if you don't want the job."

Well, he didn't expect that. Accordingly, he replied with a silence.

"Well… she is pretty."

Another silence.

"That's it? No response at all?" Duo dropped his nonchalant expression, looking defeated. "So what did I see before…? A hallucination…? Am I dreaming in the mid-day?"

Heero just blinked confusedly at the guy. Now he started to babble again. But when the braided guy started to walk away, he stopped him immediately.

"Where are you going?"

"Ah, now he is talking," Duo commented, rolling his eyes. "Where do you think? Telling the other three about the princess, then going back to the old men."

"How about your words before?"

_Hah! So he does think about it!_ Duo grinned in victory.

"Isn't it clear, buddy?" He answered the question with another questions. "I said : _**if you don't want the job**_. Only if."

Heero still didn't look convinced, so he tried another sentence.

"You were the fastest who found the princess. And the fastest get the job, remember?"

He watched the stoic boy think for a while, registering the fact. He nodded slightly in the end. Duo's grin widened.

"So you're on, man. Enjoy your stalk."

-.-.-

_*) turban = a long scarf-like single piece of cloth which wound around either the head itself or an inner hat_

End of Chapter Four

~o~

**A/N : Okay, that is a long chapter. More than 8000 words. (collapse from exhaustion)**

Originally, I want to make this chapter a little bit more angst. The part of Mr. Darlian safety, for example. It may be interesting if I apply the death of him like what happens in the canon, so then Relena will suffer a breakdown and Heero will have a chance to give her a hand. (aw, it will be touching!) But oh no no, Relena will be so sad and Heero will hunt me for making her cry. (ack, they both glare at me!) So, again everybody… if you like – or don't like – my story, please let me know by sending me comments. I am always waiting. (smile)

* * *

**Short Additional Guidance :**

Look below this writing. There are two boxes which you should examine. The green one which is read "Review this Story/Chapter" and the combo box "Add story to Story Alert". Go and try those buttons!

* * *

Do you wonder how our couple will fall in love with each other?

They have already attracted to one another, but some quality time together will always be the beginning of true love.

_**"Even if I am scared, even if I am hurt, I want to face you… but I just can't seem to be honest." **_

_**(Chapter Five : Ivy)**_

Thank you for reading, everyone!


	6. Chapter Five : Ivy

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : Okay, I wrote this chapter on Valentine day. I apologize for its late upload – I am always slow in editing – but this is my Valentine present for you all. I hope you like it. Happy Valentine!**

So, there are people who like my story. I am touched. (sniff) Sorry because I mention it late, but I want to say thanks to my kind readers. Especially for these people, whose names I don't have the chance to include in my writing, I will state it now. (I'm sorry! Believe me that I really _really_ appreciate you!)

Dear Abeytu, thanks for adding my story to your Story Alert. Dear ThruTheMoss and Scott-17, thanks for adding my story to your Favourite Story list. And my personal gratitude for my faithful reviewers, dearest Illico and Akumetsu. Thank you all! And enjoy the story!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Five : Ivy_

~o~

**ivy** _n_ [U] **1** climbing evergreen plant with dark shiny leaves **2 **symbol of friendship and faithfulness **3** emblematic of eternal life and resurrection

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_**~"Those eyes of yours can see through any disguises."~**_

_**

* * *

**_"How about your words before?"

When the braided guy said that sentence, there were many things which Heero was thinking about. He was tired of surprises, and nothing felt better than had this mission over. He felt out of place when he was in the other dimension, he felt unsure when he had to face the princess… and those blue eyes of her. The bloody nights, his usual fights, were a routine he had already used to. And he wanted to return to it, not facing unexpected events anymore. If Duo was really willing to take the mission…

"Isn't it clear, buddy?" _No, it isn't._

"I said : _**if you don't want the job**_. Only if." _Now that he repeats his words, I only need to say my agreement…_

"You were the fastest who found the princess. And the fastest gets the job, remember?"

He drew in a sharp breath. _It… it is…_

His hand balled into tight fist, as the fact registered into his head.

…_true._

So he nodded, realizing that his chance to be freed from this mission had gone with the gesture. He watched the boy grinned at him, for once feeling irritated by his happy face. He had to stop himself from punching the guy when he said his next words.

"So you're on, man. Enjoy your stalk."

Heero glared at his back when the still smiling boy turned around and waved him good bye. But he didn't do anything to stop him.

-.-.-

She couldn't sleep that night.

Relena had spent the rest of her day in her room, doing nothing except staring at the sky outside and the garden below her balcony. Her body felt limp, a tired feeling which was very similar with jet-lag tortured her for hours. But it was not physical fatigue which exhausted her the most. Her most horrible distress was her own mental burden.

Her father was safe. He was alive.

She tried to hold on to the single thought, hoping to find some relief. She tried not to worry about her precious people, convincing herself that there was nothing which would happen to them. She tried not to doubt that her father had survived, pushing out all the questions and qualms and skeptical thoughts of the fidelity of the news.

She had tried her best not to think about pessimistic thoughts. She really tried.

But her defense was melting down as the day was slowly turning to the night. She felt weak, not being able to do anything. People around her always thought that she was excellent, perfect in everything. They said that she was independent, that she could do anything by herself. She had believed it before, but now she realized that it was a mistaken picture.

Here, alone in this foreign dimension, she was not more than an ordinary girl. A lost kid who didn't know the way to go home. She began to break down, her strength was draining and she couldn't find any source of courage. She fought with her own misery and tears until the dawn came. And when her weakness won at last… she silently cried herself to sleep, falling to a short unpeaceful rest.

-.-.-

Heero calmed himself, thinking about the mission from his usual objective point of view.

He had been through many missions, dangerous ones, severe ones, merciless ones… Many of them were missions which he was never fond of, but he didn't fail any missions. He was devoted to his missions, accomplishing each task which was given to him was a must. He wasn't privileged to refuse. Or to complain.

And basically, this mission was an easy one. The hardest part, finding the princess herself, had been done. Now he just needed to keep an eye on the situation. As simple as that.

He closed his eyes, frowning slightly.

He had a feeling that this one mission wouldn't end without difficulty. Yet he evicted the feeling forcefully, chased all the unrelated thoughts away, then returned to his original thought : planning the best way to carry out his mission.

-.-.-

When Relena woke up, it was almost mid-day.

Her mind was foggy, and she vaguely remembered her dream which she had in her short sleep before. She felt like she saw her mother and Pagan, desperately looking for her whereabouts, and indistinct images of her other beloved ones… all worrying about her. She thought she saw her father too… but in her dream white light covered his body and eliminated all the colours and sharp forms of her view.

Tears flowed down her cheeks almost immediately, and she didn't bother to wipe it off this time. Instead, she stood up from her bed, staring to the balcony, finding that no one was there. An empty feeling stabbed her heart, but she ignored it as she tore her gaze from the direction. She looked around her luxurious room, finding a small table in the corner of the room. On the table there was a glass jar of water, a copper basin, and a towel.

She walked towards the direction, pouring some water into the empty basin. She washed her face with the cold water, its icy sensation was nice on her skin. She dried up her face with the towel, then soaked the edge of the cloth into the water. She walked back to her bed, bringing the wet towel with her. Pressing the towel on her tired eyes, she threw herself on the huge bed. She stayed quiet until the towel lost its coldness, warmed up by her body heat. In the end she threw the towel away and opened her eyes again.

The same ceiling pattern greeted her sight, making the cruel realization dawned in her… that the previous day was not a dream. She needed to accept the truth, she couldn't lock herself in this room forever.

So she sat up, taking some time to calm her dizzy head, before she stood up. She walked towards the doors, unlocked it, and pushed it open.

And slowly, she took a step forward.

-.-.-

At that night, he chiseled into the castle again.

But this once, he didn't have to beat any guards. He had memorized the schedule of the front guards, included their shift changes. It was actually easy to pass through the security if he had enough time to observe and wait for the right moment to go in. It was different with his first attempt of infiltration into the castle. At that time he was in a hurry, and so the commotion which was caused by his action couldn't be avoided.

Realizing that his mind went again to the event, and Heero gritted his teeth in exasperation. He reminded himself roughly that he wasn't here to look for the princess anymore. Focusing his mind back to the stone hall, he began to search for the barrack of the guards.

In the dark night, no one was aware about his presence, nor the intention which he brought with him.

-.-.-

Relena was awake before dawn.

Oh she managed to sleep, light sleep where she would awake every time a nightmare came. She stayed idle for the most of the night, closing her eyes and trying to get some rest.

She was glad when the sun rose at last, the night was dead and the new day had come. She didn't like darkness, and even though the red sun in this world was strange, she felt better when its ray shone through the tall glass windows and into her room.

Two maids knocked her doors, one of them brought new dress and fresh towel for her, the other carried a silver tray of her breakfast. Both of them curtsied respectfully, asking for her permission to go inside her room. But until they went out of her room, she couldn't force herself to give any response beside a faint smile. The whole castle was polite to her, treating her with great esteem. She should be grateful for it… her situation could be worse if the one who kidnapped her was a group of terrorists.

Here, they treated her as a princess. Yet, she wasn't happy with the way they behaved around her. Courteous, but distant, as if they were afraid of her. She felt that she just didn't belong here.

She ate her breakfast in silence. She was starting to hate her loneliness, but she refused to show the frailty in her.

-.-.-

He fixed the iron helmet on his head as he listened to the general's instruction. The helmet was a little too big for him, it covered almost half of his upper visage. And it also helped his disguise.

He was in the middle of the soldiers' morning gathering, and the whole soldiers of the castle were around him. But none of them gave him a suspicious glance. Wearing a similar armor like the other soldiers, he looked like an ordinary soldier, no different from them.

It seemed that even the general himself didn't remember all his subordinates. He didn't have any difficulty to act as a member of the group, and they would never guess him as an intruder.

Heero smirked. Yes, this was definitely the best way to carry out his mission.

-.-.-

When you didn't have anyone to be asked about something, what was better than search it in a book?

No matter whom she tried to talk with, the person would go rigid in front of her. She didn't like to waste her time to calm them every time she asked a question, before they stammered out an apology and gave her the answer she needed. And it was annoying, especially when she wanted a direct answer. Books were far more reliable.

Okay, so where she could find those books?

Relena wandered through the stone halls of the castle, hoping to find a library. She had found out that she was allowed to stroll around the castle, and it was a good thing. But since she wasn't familiar with the locations of the rooms, she was easy to get lost.

Oh, she really needed a map of this castle. She made a mental note to find one when she managed to find the library. That if the castle had one.

Hoping that this would be her last time to ask a direction to the guards, she turned around to call one of the men. They stuttered when she asked whether the castle had a library or not and when she asked where it located in.

They pointed a direction at last, hesitating before offering to walk her to the library. She gave a subtle refuse and thanked the guards for their help, then she turned around and began her quick steps. She sensed the men breathed in relief when she left them.

She sighed during her walk. Was she that frightening for the people in this castle?

-.-.-

The man beside him yawned soundlessly.

Heero considered that indiscipline guard abjectly. In his mind he condemned the poor security of this castle. If he was assigned as an assassin and not a spy, it would be easy for him to break the defense line of this fortress.

What were the Romafeller leaders thinking, placing the princess in such an unsafe environment?

He told himself that he didn't care, not even a little bit. Straightening his posture, he wore his usual expressionless mask, and continued his guard.

-.-.-

Relena didn't mean to scare the frightened maid. She was only asking for a direction, for God sake!

She gave the maid a reassuring smile, and fortunately the maid calmed a bit as she repeated her previous question.

"The library is located near the end of this hall, Your Highness," she answered timidly.

"Thank you," Relena said softly, as she handled over the feather duster which the maid had dropped a while ago.

The maid's face reddened as she mumbled something which sounded like an apology. Relena flashed the maid another smile and nodded, even though she actually couldn't hear the maid's words clearly. She was just about to continue her walk when she heard the maid called her again.

"Yes?"

"I can show you the way, Your Highness," the maid bit her lip and lowered her head before added, "I-if you don't mind my company."

Relena watched the maid's hands trembled slightly, and wondered whether she was better to refuse the offer. But it would help her a lot, since the castle's halls were more complicated than what she expected it to be.

"I would appreciate it," she answered carefully.

Relena thought her words would offend the maid, and she was ready to change her answer when the maid lifted her head. To her surprise the maid looked excited, and she smiled almost instantly.

"M-my pleasure, Your Highness!"

-.-.-

When he heard footsteps, he averted his gaze to the direction. The footsteps were light, surely not soldiers' steps. He wondered who was coming.

Someone turned to the hall.

Heero focused his gaze to the figure. Black and white uniform. A maid.

Losing his interest, he turned his eyes back to the stone wall in front of him. He barely listened when the maid started to speak up.

"Turn here, Princess. The door to the library is in this hall."

He froze in his spot. _What?_

-.-.-

Relena sent another smile to the maid. She looked forward and found huge wooden doors in the middle of the hall. Most probably the library's door. Two guards were standing in front of the doors, one in each side. One of the guards, however, caught her interest.

He was tall, with a helmet on his head, covering both of his eyes. The man's standing posture was perfect, different with another guard who was leaning on the wall, yawned lazily. She continued her walk without dropping her gaze.

-.-.-

His grip to the spear in his hand tightened as the two girls came near. It was really her, wearing a white and pink dress, staring at him intently.

_Will she recognize me?_

-.-.-

"This is the library, Your Highness."

She blinked at the sentence, recovering from her trance. She turned around to face the maid and thanked her.

"You may go to continue your work," she said with another soft smile, "Thank you, you have given me a great deal of help."

The girl blushed at the praise, curtsied a bit before took her leave. After she had gone, Relena returned her gaze to the guards.

-.-.-

"Y-your Highness!" The other guard, who was dozing before, regained all his consciousness when he saw the maid curtsied to the princess.

"Is this the library?"

"Y-yes!"

"I would like to enter. I want to search for some books."

"Of course, Your Highness!" The guard opened the heavy door for her, and the girl entered the library without giving him another glance.

Heero took a deep breath after the door had been closed again. It was good that she didn't recognize him, he told himself. But he couldn't help but felt a little bit annoyed. She forgot him so easily.

-.-.-

Okay, so she didn't expect this.

It turned out that this world had a strange kind of alphabet, very different with the any kinds of alphabet which were used in her world. She was familiar with English, French, Chinese and even a little Japanese and Korean. But none of them matched with the symbols which she found in these books.

Relena had never learned Arabic, but she had seen some writings in the Semitic language. And the cursive style with some letters joined in the scripts was somehow similar with the language. How she supposed to read the text? From right to left or left to right?

She stared to the open books in front of her, fixating her eyes to the symbols. She gave up after some minutes. She didn't have any ideas of its meaning.

Remorse came to her, and she began to regret why she didn't learn more about foreign languages. As a vice foreign minister, her father mastered many languages, and he might know something about this writing.

_Father…_

She felt her eyes blurred with tears again. And she shook her head to erase the sad feeling in her heart.

She stood up from her seat and began to search for more books. If she couldn't read the writings, at least she could get something from the pictures. And her first priority was still the map of the castle.

-.-.-

The girl hadn't come out since the last he saw her.

It was almost evening, and he wondered what she was doing inside the library. He had been curious for hours, but he didn't take the risk to open the door and find out himself. The guard beside him had fallen asleep some minutes ago, maybe he would take a peek inside…

He was startled when a loud sound was heard from the library.

_What has happened inside?_

A muffled groan came from the other side of the doors. The urgency in him increased, and he decided to wake the other guard up.

"Wh-what?" the man replied, awaken from his sleep.

"I heard something from the library. Let's have it checked."

He didn't wait for a response, and he opened the doors widely. He took a step in, looking around to search for something out of ordinary. His eyes locked to odd piles of books in the corner of the room.

He saw a hand. And the hand waved to him.

"I'm here," said the feminine voice.

"Princess!"

The other guard finally followed him, and walked towards the corner hurriedly. He followed the guard in quick steps, not saying any words at all.

"Your Highness, what has happened?" the man bent towards her, "Are you all right?"

Heero averted his gaze around the room, checking the windows, finding it still locked securely. He searched for another possible entry, and found none. He had guarded the door himself, and he was sure that there was no one who entered the library after her. Nothing was supposed to happen.

"I am fine," she replied, standing up slowly, "Can you please fix the position of this shelf?"

He and the other guard gripped the fallen shelf and put it back to its original position. She took a step backward, bringing the wooden stair with her, then propped it to a wall.

"Sorry to surprise you," she said as she cleaned her dress off the dust, "I just took a wrong step when I climbed to take a book. It seemed that I caused the shelf to fall unintentionally."

He caught himself very close to breathe in relief at the explanation.

"I am sorry to surprise you," she repeated, and the other guard replied almost automatically.

"N-not at all, Princess!"

She started to collect the books around her, "It is just so dark here after the evening come."

The guard, who followed her to collect the books, snapped his head up hearing the comment.

"I can get some lighting if you please, Your Highness."

"I would like to," she replied, and the man left the room hurriedly through the still opened doors.

He cursed himself as he realized that he tensed up after the man left. However, there were just the two of them, alone in this library.

Ignoring his increasing heart beat, he continued to collect the books on the floor in silence, determined to keep the distance as far as possible. But he couldn't stop himself from holding his breath when the girl called him.

"Thank you for staying with me," she said slowly, "I never had the chance to say it to you before."

He had thought that she didn't recognize him. But apparently he had been mistaken.

-.-.-

The guy dropped the books in his hands as he jumped backwards. She immediately stood up and took his hand to prevent him from running.

"Don't go!" she said quickly, locking her gaze with him.

Her hand which was holding his hand was cold. And he did stop moving when she locked her gaze with his.

Mesmerizing eyes. He was easy to get lost.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she released her grip of his hand, yet she still didn't drop her stare, and so he found he was imprisoned by her eyes.

"There is something I need to be sure of," she continued her sentence, fidgeting uneasily, "It may be sounded rude, but I don't mean to doubt you… or the friend of yours… really, I just…"

He listened to her words quietly as he looked to her face, finding a shadow which was caused by lack of sleep. She was clearly worrying about something, and in the dim evening light he thought he saw those blue eyes tinged with red. Was she crying again?

"I just want to ask," she took a breath and swallowed before she continued, "Is my father really alive?"

-.-.-

The boy looked confused, of course.

She bit her lower lip, thinking about a better sentence.

"I mean, I want to know whether the source of the news was trustable or not…" she trailed off, then added quickly, "I'm sorry, I don't intend to offense you. I just can't stop worrying and…"

"You can be sure that the news is true," his words cut off her rambling.

She was startled with his words. Her neatly planned words which were forming in her head shrunk, and she began to feel stupid for asking such question.

-.-.-

Her face was hooded after he said his sentence.

Heero frowned self-consciously. He apparently always chose the wrong choice of words with her.

"He didn't lie to you," he tried again, arising a confused stare from her, "The guy whom you talked with two days ago. What he has said to you is true."

_Or I will beat him down myself_, he made a mental note to check the statement with Duo later.

He looked directly into her eyes and said slowly, "Your father is alive."

"Thank you," her stare on him softened hearing his words. "I think I just want to hear someone tell me that."

-.-.-

She actually intended to say more words, but the guard from before had returned with a pair of lanterns before she managed to perform her intention. She decided that it was better to keep their previous conversation secret.

So she turned to the man and thanked him, placing the lanterns on the wide table in the center of the library.

"You can leave these books to us," Relena was surprised when the boy said those words, "We will take care of it."

"Y-yes, Your Highness!" the older man spoke up when she didn't give response, "We will put the books in order."

She blinked at them. "I don't want to give you trouble."

"No." They replied in unison. "Not at all, Your Highness."

She smiled.

"Well then, I think I will return to my room," she walked to the table and picked some books, "Will it be all right if I bring some books with me?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

She sent them another smile, "Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it."

-.-.-

The man stuttered in replying. "I-I am honoured, Princess."

And they watched her leave through the doors. After she had gone, the man turned to his direction with a stern face.

Heero gave him a slightly surprised look, wondering what he had possibly done wrong. Did the man suspect something from him?

"Young man," he began, "You better learn some manner. It is impolite not to address the princess properly when you talk with her."

He only nodded as response. And the man continued to lecture him about etiquette and formal forms of address when they tidied up the library that night.

-.-.-

She was glad that she could meet with the boy again.

Truthfully, it was strange to find him guarding the library. Just two days ago he was an intruder whom the soldiers of this castle searched for, wasn't he? But she decided to give the fact no concern, believing that he wasn't here to harm her.

She wondered whether the boy would go now that she had found him out. And she felt a little bit sad. At least she managed to say thank you to him this time, for soothing her burden about her father.

For some reasons which she couldn't understand herself, he had managed to convince her with his words. And she had believed him.

Relena crawled to her bed, burying herself below the sheets, and closed her eyes. She had a feeling that she would be able to sleep well tonight.

-.-.-

His job today was to guard the dining hall.

The dining hall was usually empty, so the general decided that there was no need for two people to guard the room. Heero didn't have any complaints against the arrangement, he was used to work alone.

There was no interesting event that morning, and he ate his meal which was brought to him by one of the maids in silence. However, when it was almost noon, the kitchen started to get busy. He could hear the chefs bustled in the kitchen, and some maids came into the dining hall, bringing plates and a table cloth. As if they were preparing a banquette, or a special lunch.

Heero couldn't help but felt an unpleasant feeling in his stomach. He had a bad omen about this.

-.-.-

She was glad that she managed to find the way to the dining room by herself.

Relena opened the door swiftly. And she was relieved to saw a long table in the middle of the room, with many chairs at its sides. So she didn't come to the wrong room.

But when she entered the room, she heard a sound of metal clanging from behind the doors, and so she turned to the direction.

-.-.-

For this once Heero didn't like to find out that his intuition was right.

It was her, standing in front of him, eyes widened in shock. He tried not to look away, but his gaze was unconsciously averted to the ceiling, avoiding those blue eyes.

She stared at him for a whole minute, and he forced himself not to flinch at her stare. Then the understanding came to her and slowly, a smile touched her lips.

"Hei," she called, and he lowered his gaze reluctantly, "Will you hold on for a moment?"

He didn't understand her words.

The girl just turned around and walked outside the room, without waiting for his response. He followed her with his eyes, totally confused with her. Ah, she turned around again to him.

"I will be back in some minutes," she called before continued her run, "Don't go anywhere."

-.-.-

Relena ran back to her room, not stopping until she reached her doors. She opened it in hurry and went in to take some books with her.

She slammed her doors to close as she continued to run back to the dining hall. Oh she hoped the boy was still in the room.

-.-.-

He blinked at the girl in front of him, watching her grasping for breath. She held him some books which he took in confusion, saying that she borrowed the books from the library the previous day.

"Do you want me to return these books to the library?"

"No!" she replied almost instantly, trying to calm her breath again.

She walked to the table in the middle of the room, gesturing him to follow her. He obeyed when she asked him to put the books on the table, watching her curiously as the girl started to open the books.

"See these pictures," she put the three books in parallel line, "Which one is the map of this castle?"

-.-.-

The boy just stared at her. "Can't you-"

"…just read the map by myself?" she finished the question for him, "Unfortunately, I can't."

He continued to stare at her for another minute before averted his gaze to the books. Relena waited in silence, letting him flip through the pages. After a moment, he turned around to her again.

"All of these pictures are the map of this castle. The books only explain different parts of the building : the underground, the base floor, and the upper floor," he pointed each picture one by one.

"Oh," she replied, coming closer to look at the pictures more clearly, "And I guess we are in the base floor, aren't we?"

He nodded, "The kitchen and the dining hall, where we are now, are located in the base floor. Your room, library, and some other rooms are in the upper floor. The basement is for the security base, warehouse, and wine cellar."

She listened to his explanation with all her attention, "What about the green dots around the castle?"

"It symbolizes the garden, and the canal outside the main building."

-.-.-

She asked him more questions about the map, and he was impressed with her interest to the details. When she finished with her questions, she closed the books and turned to him with a smile.

"Thanks, and sorry to bother you," she said. "It just turns out to me that the people here use a set of letters which is different with the one in my world."

He was intrigued with those words, "I don't think so."

"What do you mean?"

He just took one of the books from her hand, and began to flip some pages. When he found the page which he searched for, he returned the book to her.

"Look at this page."

She focused her eyes to the text for a while, but lifted her eyes to him again in confusion.

"You know… I can't read the text."

"Look at the footer," he pointed with his index finger, and her eyes followed his movement.

-.-.-

She gasped when she saw the small text below the main article. It was only a few words, but it was written in normal, Latin alphabet.

"It is the _Cumae form_ of our alphabet," his word made her lifted her head, "The form is uncommon, the usage of the form is limited to extra explanation and ancient words."

An 'oh' was all she managed to say.

"I don't know if the books which are written in this form still exist or not," he continued, "But I think the library may have some."

-.-.-

Her eyes lit up hearing his explanation.

"It won't hurt to try some searches."

He went silent at her words. She stared at him for some seconds, before spoke up in apologize tone.

"I'm sorry, you must be busy."

He hesitated before answered, "I have my job."

"Of course," she took the books with her again, "I can try to find the books by myself."

But before she could walk away, he stopped her.

"You forget your lunch."

She blinked at the sentence, then she looked to the meal on the table.

"Ah, yes."

She surprised him by turning to him again, "Have you eaten your lunch?"

He went rigid at the question. "No."

"Would you like to-"

"I will take my spot outside," he cut off her words.

And without waiting for her response, he walked to the doors.

-.-.-

It was a rude response, actually.

But instead of being offended with the response, she found herself want to smile at his short answer.

_I always make him feel inconvenient_, she thought as she ate her lunch in the huge hall alone.

She wondered whether she should apologize again for bothering him. And as she contemplated the thought in her mind, without realizing it, her lips turned into a smile again.

-.-.-

The next day was another startling day.

His guarding spot today was the back gate, practically the farthest spot from the castle. It was a desolate spot, as the main gate which was usually being used was the front gate, and almost no one came to the spot since the gate had been sealed to close. The iron lock itself had been smoldered with iron-mould, making the gate could hardly be opened now even that someone used the correct key.

The place was silent, and it was almost boring for the guards who had to guard the spot. His current partner, a young soldier in his early twenties, had gone from the morning – to meet with his date, he had said – and hadn't returned since. Heero didn't expect him to come back, as he had discovered the young soldier's indolence to guard the desolate spot from the start.

_Even the assigned guard avoids this place._ He looked at the girl in front of him in bewilderment. _What in this world makes this girl come here?_

He was both annoyed and surprised to see her here. The chance for someone to stumble across this place was so low that it was absurd to be assumed as an acceptable reason.

So he couldn't stop himself to question the only alternative left.

"Are you looking for me?"

"Yes," she answered in honesty. And he was rendered speechless by the single word.

-.-.-

The boy went silent at her answer, so she felt that she had to give more explanation.

"I have been looking for you since this morning, but I don't have any ideas where to look for," she began, "So I just stroll around the castle."

She waited for some seconds, but the boy still didn't give any response.

"Actually, it is because the map which you illustrated to me yesterday that I manage to find this place," she tried again.

His lack of answer was starting to give her nerve. She forced herself to wait patiently for his response, trying her best not to avoid his stare. As the minutes passed, her worry increased. But when she was just about to say sorry to bother him and leave, the boy spoke up.

"Why," he asked,"…do you look for me?"

Relena was glad that the thick silence had been broken. She smiled at him before gave her answer.

"I want to show you something."

-.-.-

_She comes here just to show me some… books?_

He listened quietly as she told him about her searching yesterday, how she inquired for the old books in the library, how her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm when she showed him the books which she managed to find.

It was only two books, actually, but she seemed satisfied to prove that the book in her form of alphabet did really exist. Both of the books were old, each cover was made from leather and the text in its yellowish pages was handwritten. Its title had faded because of age, and the only visible differences from the two books were its size, and the number of its pages.

"I have read the books," she said, "But I can't understand what is written in this one."

She handed one book, the smaller of the two books, to him and gestured him to take a seat beside her. He found it was queer for a princess to sit on the grass, moreover in a dress which she wore at that time, but he didn't do anything except silently took his place.

"I can read the text, because it is written in the kind of alphabet which is familiar to me. But the words and sentences just don't make any sense."

She opened the first page of the book for him, in such careful way to keep the pages in intact. She let him examined the content for a while, and when he lifted his eyes to her again, she continued her words.

"What do you think?" she asked curiously, "Is this another form of your language? Or perhaps a totally different language?

He corrected her conjecture, "It is the same _Cumae form_, the only difference from the one I have shown you yesterday is its usage."

"I remember you have stated that the usage of the form is limited," she replied.

"Yes," he gave her an affirmative nod, "In most books – like in the book from before – it is only used to explain some foreign words. But there is the other usage of the form."

"And the other usage is…?"

"In this book, it is used to write ancient language."

"As I've thought!" she exclaimed.

He gave her a questioning look, but she just stared back at him, as if waiting him to ask the question. He hesitated a bit when he opened his mouth to speak, but as she encouraged him with a smile, he continued.

"What you have been thinking about?"

"I have thought that, since our worlds are two different worlds, our culture and literature have to be dissimilarly contrast," she answered, "It is more understandable for me now that you've said that you have another language."

He paid her a befuddled glance, and the action earned him another smile from her.

"I was actually surprised yesterday, when you said that we had similar language," she added, "Isn't it funny that we coincidentally speak in the same language?"

He was stunned by that sentence for a while. "Do you also have other languages in your world?"

"Yes, and there are more than you may have thought."

"How many?"

"I don't really know the exact number, but I am sure that there are more than six thousand languages in my world."

He blinked at the answer, her world had to be very huge then.

She propped her chin in the palm of her right hand, finding his astonished look interesting, "How about here?"

"Here we only have several hundred of different languages."

"You can speak in all of them?"

"I know the basics of most languages, but not all of it."

"That's amazing!" she commented, "I only know around five or six languages."

He stared at her, and she stared back at him. And while their eyes met in silence, neither of them could avert their eyes from each other.

"…if," she said slowly, "…we don't speak in the same language, we may never talk with each other like this."

He silently agreed with her. It would have been big trouble for him too, if he couldn't understand the language when he was in the other world.

"It is a coincidence," she said again.

"A coincidence," he repeated.

Her lips turned into a smile again, "I am glad for this coincidence."

And as she continued to stare at him with her smile, he felt a tug in his heart. A kind of familiar feeling, a strange sense of anticipation, like he knew that something was going to happen. Yet, he couldn't find the name of the feeling.

-.-.-

She didn't realize she was holding her breath until the boy turned his head, breaking his stare.

Relena didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed with the gesture. His eyes were always intense, and he had that kind of stare which made one's heart raced and one's pulse quickened. She felt suffocated by his straight stare, but on the other hand… she kind of hoped it would continue. It was confusing.

"Um, about the ancient language from before," she tried to calm her nerves as she changed the topic of their conversation.

She was still struggling to steady her pulse when he turned to face her again.

"Would you tell me something about it?" she thought for some seconds before adding, "Its usage for example?"

He took his time to answer. "It is no longer be used anymore. The language has long been forgotten."

"But…?"

"But it is said that old charms and magical spells are derived from the language."

-.-.-

"Magic?"

Her eyes widened in surprise, and he knew that he accidentally had pushed her excitement. However, it was too late to draw back his sentence.

"Ah yes, I have read it in the other book," she took the other book which she brought with her, "But I think the story in it is only fiction."

She gave the book to him. He didn't take the book immediately, but as he realized that she wouldn't back off with his impassive response, he sighed inwardly and accepted the book.

_Better to finish this matter as soon as possible,_ he thought.

He read the first pages of the book, finding the stories in it were written in simple Cumae form. The book was, apparently, the collection of myths from ancient kingdoms, from the era when Romafeller hadn't been formed.

"So, my question is… does magic actually exist?"

He frowned at her, "You use it yourself."

"Me?" she pointed at herself unsurely, "What magic? I don't know any spells, I don't have magic wand, broomstick, or something like that."

"…broomstick?"

-.-.-

He was certainly at loss. Okay, on the second thought, it was ridiculous to think that one could fly with a broomstick. Yet, a pair of wings was more or less in the same category of absurdity.

"In my world magic is unreal," she explained, "It is only told in stories, magicians in black robes, with tall triangle hats, magic wands and broomsticks. The broomsticks are their flying vehicles."

"Flying vehicles?" he thought about it for a moment, "…broomsticks?"

She tried her best not to laugh at his expression. "Just in the stories."

He seemed to accept that.

"So there is no magic in your world?"

"Well," she thought over his question, "There are people who are born with ESP."

"What is that?"

"Extra-Sensory Perception, special abilities," she tried the simplest explanation, "Like moving things or having sensitive sense... I think it is different with magic."

"Most probably those people use magic," he argued her statement, "Consciously or unconsciously."

"I don't know," she replied, "Maybe you are right."

He caught her eyes, "…how about you?"

-.-.-

She blinked at his question.

"As I've said, I don't know any spells."

"But you have some…," he paused, "…special abilities?"

"…yes," she answered, "But I think you've known that."

He just replied with a single 'hn', but she didn't let it slip that easily. She locked her eyes to his, and he was forced to stare back.

"…what?"

"Do you have magic yourself?"

It was better that he didn't answer that question, but since she had been very honest with his question, it just seemed unfair. He would answer her question, he decided. However, he would stick with limited answer.

"Yes." And he refused to say any more words.

"Okay, so does everyone here know magic?" she changed her question.

He was surprised that she didn't pursue him farther. But from the first time they met, she never asked anything about his identity. He found it strange that she seemed so understanding about him.

The familiar feeling rose up again. _What is this feeling?_

-.-.-

They continued their conversation until the evening come, questioning and answering, with a few awkward silences in between. And the books, which were the initial reason for them to start their discussion, were forgotten in the end, as they were more and more talking based on their own experiences or knowledge.

From their talk, Relena got an overview about this world, and the boy got an overview about her world in return. She knew that the name of this world is Terris, and he knew that the name of her world is Earth. They had come to a conclusion that while Earth was based on technology and machines in daily life, Terris was based on magical creatures and spells. She found out that there are many kinds of magic, and that the magic itself is more likely a gift, so while people should learn to use their magic talent, not everybody had the talent in them.

In brief, she was quite fascinated with this new foreign world. But while the distinction between their two worlds was clear enough, she found that some parts of them were strangely similar. Not just the language, the governmental system, even the forms of address and names were more or less the same.

She wondered whether it was just another coincidence.

-.-.-

He never talked this much before.

And it was odd that he didn't feel uncommon with the fact.

He glanced at the girl beside him, who didn't seem to acknowledge his stare, wondering why he didn't see his action as a mistake. He was the one who offered to conduct her back to the castle when his shift had been over. What was the reason? It was merely because he didn't want to let her roam through the castle by herself. He didn't want to cause more trouble if she got lost in her way back, he was sure that the entire castle had been aware about the absence of their princess during the day, and was searching for her.

Yes, that was it.

He cut off his thought as she turned to him with a questioning look on her face. He just continued his steps without giving her a response, fully aware that she was smiling behind his back.

-.-.-

_*) Cumae form = a form of Greek alphabet, it gave rise to a variety of alphabets used to inscribe the Italic languages_

End of Chapter Five

~o~

**A/N : Yes, I am a sap, a hopeless romantic, whatever the call you are willing to use for me.**

Actually, I have tried to publish this chapter earlier. I didn't know what happened at that time, but I just couldn't log in my account. And so the new semester comes, and I just don't have time to upload. Again, I am very sorry for my lateness. Do send me some comments!

P.S : Dear Akumetsu, please erase your worry. No matter what day it comes, your review always makes me happy.

* * *

The next chapter is mainly about the familiar feeling which Heero feels during this chapter. And what Relena feels about him in return.

_**"It was a chance encounter… which unknowingly led them here." **_

_**(Chapter Six : Promnesia)**_

Until the next chapter, dear readers!


	7. Chapter Six : Promnesia

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : Influenza hit me like a truck; I woke up one morning and felt awful, while the day before I was fine.**

Not in the state to speak much (hoarse voice). So instead of talking, I write. (smile) I know I have told you before, dearest Illico, but thanks again for giving me new ideas. Glad to see you again, dear Storms-winter. And dear Relwarcn, you may check the previous chapter, I've already had it fixed. So, everybody, here is my longest chapter ever : my sixth chapter. Enjoy!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Six : Promnesia_

~o~

**promnesia** _n_ [U] **1** compelling sense of familiarity **2 **a sense of eeriness, strangeness, or weirdness **3** scientific name for the phenomenon of déjà vu

* * *

_**~"I remember how we first met, in dreams yet to come."~**_

_**

* * *

**_She woke up that morning with a light feeling in her heart.

Staying still on her bed, she admired the way some lights passed through the glass windows and the curtains, creating paths of reddish orange light on the high ceiling. Slowly, she stood up to her feet, walking towards her balcony. She shifted the curtains which was placed in front of the balcony's door aside, and pulled the door to open.

When she stepped outside, a gust of wind blew through her and into her room, causing her dress, and the curtains behind her, to flutter. A few trees in the garden below brayed, and its breezing sound somehow reminded her of home. She took more steps forward.

Leaning on the white stone fence, her eyes were set to the distance, to the horizon, where the sun of the land was rising. It was a magnificent view, seeing the sky glowed up brightly, while the land was still shadowed, covered by a slight yellow fog.

_A world of magic_, she thought to herself.

The world was still as strange and unwelcoming as before, nonetheless, it didn't seem that frightening anymore. That thought brought her the courage to face the new day, and she smiled to the sky, thinking about a certain boy who gave her that new impression of the world.

-.-.-

He didn't like the way they joked around him.

It was merely some useless noise, their mockery of each other, jesting about their own leniency. They were not jobless, actually, because the general had assigned some of the soldiers, included him, to clean and reshape the armament in the Weaponry Room. They did that, but not seriously, as they played with some weapons in the dungeon, acting as if they were masters in using it.

He ignored them as he continued to sharpen a sword, watching its side gleamed as he polished it to its best condition. In the corner of his sight, a soldier was twisting a javelin around, revolving it to make some turning moves, before he made a clumsy mistake and lost his grip, causing it to fall to the stone floor in a rattle. A fit of laughter followed right after the event.

He barely spared a glance. _Pathetic soldiers._

-.-.-

She was pretty much in a good mood that day.

When the maids who brought her breakfast came into her room, she managed to thank them with a bright smile. They curtsied in return, no different than the usual, yet there was delight in their faces, replacing the stiff politeness which they had worn until the day before.

She ate her meal quickly, thinking about what she should do for today. Actually, she was eager to know more about magic. It sounded so interesting, and she had a feeling that it was related to the way to go back to her world. She felt her spirit lifting while the hope rose in her chest.

There was one person who might help her to learn. But first, she had to find his current spot today.

-.-.-

A faint sound of footsteps came from the hall. His ears perked up hearing the sound, yet there was nothing which could be hinted from his oblate façade. One would think that all his attention was poured into the action of furbishing an engraved round shield in his hands. The truth, it wasn't.

_She has such light steps._

It just registered into his mind, the fact that she walked in such an almost soundless way. He thought over the previous days, wondering if she had always moved in that manner, in a fluid way, so quietly that it barely caused any sound.

He reminded himself that he only had a few encounters with her, and so he could hardly have time to keep up her appearance like that.

Withal, his ability to identify her typical way of walking, or her footsteps, was unneeded and inessential.

Heero didn't move from his seat, nor did he put down the metal shield in his hands. He just continued what he had been doing before, like all the other oblivious guys, who were still chattering around him. That… until the faint steps from behind the doors stopped, and a knock was heard instead.

-.-.-

She straightened her posture, lifting her head confidently. The door creaked to open in front of her, revealing a pair of greaves and sight of metallic chain-mail. She didn't expect too much, since she had gone to many other rooms in the castle without finding the one she looked for.

Yet, she was still very close to sigh when she looked to the man's face. It was not him, again.

The man went pale in seeing her, gasping audibly. "Princess!"

His shout was echoing in the dungeon, and the merry clamor behind the man fell into silence. She recoiled hopelessly. Not this reaction again.

She took a deep breath indiscernibly, and got hold of the man's gaze. She smiled her calm, soothing smile, and greeted him kindly. She waited until the man's face returned to its normal colour, before she went with her words.

"I just take a walk around the hall," she said the sentence which she had said many times before, "And I would like to get a sight of this room. Can you move some steps aside so I am able to enter?"

The man was slow to mumble his reply in his shaken condition. She gave him a clement smile, worrying a bit when the man took unstable steps away from the door. The man's face was a little bit too red for the usual colour of skin complexion, making her think over her words, trying to find a more subtle approach. She really didn't mean to intimidate so much.

What she didn't know was… the stutter and awkward expressions were all caused by the natural enchantment which came from within her. And so there was nothing she could do about it.

-.-.-

The room's tension was raised as the whole people inside, but him, stared to the opened doors in anticipation. And when a certain golden haired girl came through them, slight gasps and sharp inhaled breaths were heard from everyone. Except from him, of course.

Her blue eyes scanned the room, sweeping pass each one of them. He was the last person who stood up, while most of the men had done military bows and salutes for the girl. Then slowly, he looked up to her.

-.-.-

She felt guilty for causing them to strain like that.

The pressure in the dungeon was evident, exactly the opposite she had wished it to be. She acknowledged each bow and salute with assent nod, catching each pair of eyes, trying to get them to relax.

That was when she saw him, the only one in the room who didn't seem to be affected by her presence, the only one who didn't bother to treat her with appropriate formality. He stood there across the room, so still, so quietly… that his eyes on her were his only greeting to her. And in spite of the big helmet on his head, in spite of him being disguised among numerous similarly-dressed men in the room, she recognized him instantly.

_The clear difference is too much for a hint_, she thought amusedly, happy to finally find him.

-.-.-

She continued to look around the room, seemed to be interested in the glimmering weaponry on the stone walls.

And when she talked, she talked to the whole room. Her eyes were on everybody, everything else, not even once stopping on him. He would think that she didn't realize that he was here, he would… if not for a tiny, amused smile, which was tugging on her lips.

She was too good for an actress.

Pondering what had brought her to seek for him again, he watched the girl turned to the soldiers, gently asking them to continue their work before. He knew that she would not say anything to him, not with all these people around them. He knew that she was going to take her leave soon. But he also knew that he would be embittered by not knowing the reason she came to him today. And it made hard for him to act apathetic, to ignore her when she walked back to the doors.

"Now I will excuse myself…," she started to speak up, and he knew that that was the last glance she would pay to him, and the other men in the room, before she went out.

-.-.-

"I will escort you to your room."

She was more shocked by the sentence than the voice itself. Yes, his voice was shocking to be heard, since she had been so sure that he was _**not**_ the one to speak up, to say anything to her. He was never much a conversationalist.

But it was more shocking to hear him to say those words. She knew that he had been trying to avoid her, at the library, at the dining hall, at the back gate yesterday… He had always looked as if he wanted to get away from her.

She turned around to look at him, still standing across the room, couldn't help but wonder whether she had heard the sentence wrong.

Noticing the odd stares came from every direction from the room, her included, the boy opened his mouth again.

"If you need a direction," he paused before added, "…princess."

-.-.-

Her face broke into a strange expression at his last word. He began to think that he had done something amiss, that the usual "Your Highness" call was more proper to be used than "Princess", for example. But he had heard some people used the form to address her, so it should not be a false call… or was it?

The expression lasted only for a second, too short time for him to decipher what was it. That even if he was a friendlier person, that if he was often to smile and was familiar with it, he still wouldn't have any clues… that she was holding back a laugh.

However, he noticed that she regained her usual tranquility back almost immediately.

"It is very kind of you to offer," she replied calmly.

And those words, coming in her melodic tune, averted all those gazes on him to her figure. Her eyes gleamed in a tender hypnotizing light, while she kept the brilliant smile on her lips… causing all of them to hold their breaths. This time, he was no exception.

"I do," she approved then, stunning him with the sincere felicity in her blue eyes.

-.-.-

Actually she didn't mind his silence at all.

She had followed him through the hall without uttering any comments for some minutes, paying some glances to his back now and again. But when they reached a certain distance, he stopped walking.

He turned around to face her, and she met his eyes readily.

"You were looking for me," he said matter-of-factly.

She smiled at his sentence and nodded slightly. "And you want to know why."

He didn't say anything against that, and she knew from his eyes that she was right. But then she thought better and started to ask.

"Did I disturb you?"

She thought she saw his cool, controlled expression falter a bit at her question. "…no."

"Okay," she replied, the smile returned to her lips, "I intend to ask you a favor, but I think I will wait until later. When do you have time today?"

She expected him to ask about the favor, or to refuse it. But he didn't. And he surprised her by simply answering her question.

"At noon."

"Oh well then," she took chance to examine his expression, silently questioning him, waiting him to inquire her.

He just looked back to her. The look on his face was new, she could almost see a kind of humor in the depth of those eyes. She blinked at the sight.

"Hn," a very light smirk graced his lips, and he said nothing else.

She couldn't suppress a wide grin to cross her face. He only turned around, ready to continue his walk. She had to do some quick steps to chase the boy, taking her place beside him.

And the warm, bubbly feeling which she had felt inside the dungeon filled her chest again. It was so nice to think that he had stopped disliking her presence.

-.-.-

He was in the library, sitting in front of a marble desk, when he heard some sounds echoing from the far end of the hall.

He picked his head up from the opened books on the table to listen. A pair of clear blue eyes followed his movement.

"Is there something outside?" she put down the book on her lap and averted her gaze to the closed doors.

"Some people are coming for you," he answered her, "It has been evening."

"Already?" she looked out the high windows of the library, finding that the sky had begun to darken for true.

He gestured her to choose which ones of the books in front of her she would take with her, starting to collect the unused ones. She took some books, piling them on the table across his seat. He watched her slump her head on the pile, sighing.

"I haven't managed to learn anything," she muttered quietly. "Who knows that magic is so difficult to be learnt?"

Her favor which she had mentioned to him that morning was to teach her something about spells. And when he said that she needed to know the basic language of magic, the ancient language, she had initiated their visit to the library for the purpose of learning. They had been in there since noon, and she had actually learned many things. Even more than he had expected she would grasp into her head. He had never met anyone who was so eager to study.

"You are a fast-learner," he replied, "But you can't have it all in one day, it is no use to push too hard."

She lifted her head to him, smiling slightly. "I am flattered."

The tiny echoing sounds were turning into clearer footsteps. She stood up from her seat, lifting the pile of books with her hands, placing them in her hug. And as the late-afternoon sunlight poured into the room and upon them, he just noticed that the golden strands of her hair had some streaks of honey colour, making it more interesting for anyone to take a look on the girl. But not him, anyone except him. That's for sure.

She turned to him, taking some time to hold his gaze. He returned her stare, watching a slow smile creep into her expression, as her eyes on him gradually softened into a kind, grateful stare. He wasn't sure how to respond to that.

It just felt… warm.

Now the footsteps had come closer, and they could hear the clanging of metal armors and boots. She looked to the doors behind him.

"I think I will go first, since they are looking for me," she said, "You will have your chance after the soldiers leave."

He gave her a nod, letting her pass in front of him. However, she paused when she took hold of the door's handle, sending him another smile. "Thank you for the lesson."

He felt the corner of his lips turn up a bit, "Hn."

Then she went out the room, to behind the doors, gone from his sight. But his eyes didn't move from the closed doors, not until the last traces of her light footsteps faded away.

-.-.-

"Your Highness! So there you are!"

She forced herself to turn her eyes from the closed door of the library, pulling her attention to the soldiers.

"Yes," she said to them, "I'm just about to return to my room."

A tall muscular man with a silvery full plate and red cape paid her a military bow. "Then you should, Your Highness. Let us escort you to your chamber."

She could tell that the man was not an ordinary soldier, because he didn't shrink in front of her like the rest of the guys. Most probably the captain of the group, or even the general of the castle himself, she guessed from his appearance. She eyed the men, there were too many people he brought with him to look for her. Something unusual had happened, and she decided to find out about it.

"I see you come to bring me news." She lifted up her face to the man. "What is it?"

The blunt question stunned the man for a while, clear surprise could be seen from his face. But he replied her in the end.

"A message has come to this castle this afternoon, Your Highness," he told her, "It is meant for you."

Curiosity made her throw another question. "And from whom does it come?"

"From the duke himself, Your Highness. My Excellency, Lord Kushrenada of Great Romefeller."

-.-.-

He marched to the front gate with the other soldiers, lining up in two long rows, on each side of the gate. The torches in the porch of the gate were lit up, its fire brightened the path of white stone towards the castle.

Right after he went back to the barrack of the guards, the order from the general came, commanding all the soldiers to go to the front gate. A very important person would arrive tonight, that was what he heard from the whispers of conversation among the soldiers. The lord of the castle had returned from the capital, and preparations to welcome him back needed to be done. For what purpose he came back, that was what he had to discover.

And so there he was, standing in the middle of early night, waiting. He focused his eyes to the land outside the opened gate. A shadow could be seen from a distance, moving closer towards the castle, together with clicking sound of carriage wheels. His eyes narrowed pointedly as he saw a flag with golden emblem of OZ embroidered on the velvet blue material.

It was, without mistake, the Treize Kushrenada himself.

-.-.-

She knew that the ladies-in-waiting had begun to quiver, shriveling under her gaze.

Relena closed her eyes, lifting her head up to the high ceiling of her chamber, trying her best not to descend her exasperation on them. The ladies were not the ones to blame.

So she put on a smile on her face, telling them to put down those dresses which they brought with them on the silk coverlet of her bed. She took a quick look at each dress, wincing inwardly at the instances of prodigality. Taking a deep breath, she pacified her mind, there was no use for being irritated.

Yet the feeling of being a fancy dressed up doll still didn't fare from her mind.

"Your Highness…," called one woman, "Which one of the dresses you will wear to the dinner tonight?"

_Not any of it_, she answered mentally. Yet she didn't speak up her mind. Instead, she came to examine the dresses, choosing an ivory dress with golden embroidery on its edges, the most modest, unsophisticated dress of them all.

Then she turned around to the full length mirror behind her, sitting on a short red cushioned chair in front of the mirror. Politely refusing their offering to help her with her hair-do, she asked them to put away the boxes of jewelry and tiaras.

The ladies were beyond shocked. "You don't like them, Your Highness?"

She just smiled, so sweetly that it succeeded in making them close their lips. She was still keeping the smile on her face until all of the women went out of her room. Then after they had gone, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, letting out a long sigh.

She loosened the bandage which wrapped her temples. The white cloth rolled off of its own accord and pooled on her shoulders, around her neck. She touched the side of her head lightly, examining it carefully. If she scrutinized the spot closely, there were still some lines of scar, but they were so fade that it was hard to see them.

Her wounds, fortunately, had healed enough. And it was a good thing for her, because she didn't want to look like when she first came to this land. She held her gaze on the mirror firmly, mustering up her strength.

She was not going to look weak in front of the man.

-.-.-

He got the position which he had aimed for. Next to the doors of the dining hall, in where the leader of OZ was. The wooden doors were not that solid, if a sound was loud enough, he could manage to hear it coming from inside. With a good measure of concentration, he should be able to decipher voices and hopefully, conversations.

He needed to collect as much information as he could.

So he stood still, closing his eyes, trying to make the best use of his ears. He smirked when his ears got a sound of wine glasses meeting each other. It came out clear enough. If only these disturbing loud sounds of the soldiers' breaths in the hall could just stop…

His eyes snapped open when the breaths _**did**_ stop. _Those footsteps…_

Since the chandeliers and all the lanterns in the castle had been lit up, even the stone floor looked shining. And a blond girl with golden threads on her silken dress, of course, shone more brightly than the floor.

From his distance, she looked like a figure made of gold. No wonder all the soldiers who were lining on the sides of the hall suddenly had difficulty in breathing.

The white bandage around her head was no longer visible, but it was not the only distinguishable thing in her appearance. Her hair wasn't let loose, it was pinned with pearl clips on the back of her head, the golden strands tumbled down neatly to her shoulders. He also notified that her bangs were combed to her right temple – the place of the cut from the previous accident, had the injury healed yet? – making her look more mature.

Wearing a luxurious gown, not a simple dress like he always saw her in, she was a magnet of attention. Yet, she didn't seem to care about it.

She just continued to walk on the red carpet, becoming more and more regal with each step she took. Holding her head high, she was so pretentious, that even without a tiara on her head, no one would doubt that she was a princess.

He stayed on his spot, watching her silently. She was a truly different person tonight. He had seen her demanding nobility a few times by now… but never had she looked this distant before.

-.-.-

"Your face is so gloom, my princess."

She put down her knife and fork, casting her eyes to the man at the opposite side of the long table. She had ignored his eyes on her for the most of the meal, keeping her silence. But the man, at last, decided to start a conversation with her.

"Is that so?" she made up a polite smile, trying to be civil.

She got a calm smile as a reply, "Is there anything you don't like about the meal? I can have the chef to serve different menu, if you like."

She narrowed her eyes. He knew that it was not the problem. What was he planning?

"Actually, the meal is delicious," she decided to go along with his game, "I would like to convey my praise to the chef."

"Your praise will be delivered," he complied her comment, folding his gloved hands together on the table.

The brown-haired man looked right to her eyes, and she was not one to back off. From his appearance alone, he was elegant, the type of man who had exotic things happened to and around him. Most of women would agree that he was quite handsome, yet she couldn't find him appealing in any way.

"Then perhaps you find something wrong with my presents for you?" he continued his chatter, "But I must admit that you look beautiful in the dress tonight, my princess."

Such praise usually made her blush, yet she had feeling that it was not uncommon for him to use that line, and so she only responded with another smile.

"Your presents are exquisite, sire," she tried to provoke some reaction from him, "I am sorry that I am not in the state to appreciate such gifts."

"Treize, my princess, please," he said pleasantly, "Let me know the reason for your embitterment."

He was truly a player, that fact was clear now.

"I think it is caused by the sudden environment change, Sir Treize," she bravely answered him, "I hope you can understand that I never expect to leave home, in spite of your welcoming _invitation_."

She deliberately took a pause after she said those words. Nah, how would he react now?

"Exactly. I also think that you are uncomfortable in this secluded castle," he began. He swung his right hand lightly, and the wine bottle on the table, magically, floated to the air. "The point of me coming to this place again is also to discuss about this matter. Wine?"

Turning down his offer, she didn't move her fixated stare on him. He poured the red wine to his own glass, then he returned the bottle to its original place with another movement of his hand.

"You may feel better if you are in the capital, my princess. There are some ladies in your age, and I will make it sure that you get acquaintance with them. You may have tea parties, little tours of the town…" he held his glass, shaking it a little as he spoke, "I will also hold a ball to welcome you, if you please."

From his chill façade she knew he was still playing, he was _**playing**_ with her.

"You have to know that I am grateful for your generous offer," she responded with a sweet smile, though her undeterred gaze on him indicated otherwise, "Yet has it ever occurred to you that I may have different intention?"

"Then speak up, my princess. I am listening," he said, the smirk was still plastered on his face.

She drew in a deep breath. She needed to tell this man, she had to.

"I want to go home."

He was quiet for some seconds, and she thought she had surprised him with the sentence. But no, the man was still as calm as before. He even gave her a full, amused smile.

"Of course, of course you would like to go home! I actually mean to extend a more proper welcome before you start your journey," he put on a disappointed look, "But you may do as you wish, my princess, we can have the plan to begin earlier."

Now she was the one who was surprised.

_That easy? Will he really set me free?_

She didn't give her reply immediately, taking time to examine his expression. The handsome noble only waited patiently for her response, propping his chin on one hand. He might look as a gentleman, but she knew that the calculated calm mask on his face was not an expression of innocent man.

She paid him a suspicious glance, "What plan?"

"Your travel to your homeland, my princess, did you say so yourself?" he took a sip of his wine, "Sanq Kingdom may not be as peaceful as the old days, but we can arrange it so that your journey to the land will be as safe as possible."

_I knew it!_ she thought grimly. This man would not let her go that easily.

"Apparently you get a wrong impression, sire," she managed to say those words with grace, "I mean my home, the place where I have lived these past years. I mean Earth."

She never hated anyone in her life before, but something in this man – the odious gleam in his ice blue eyes, or maybe his dandy appearance – was simply enough to evoke her antipathy.

"I apologize for my wrong assumption, my princess. But you should understand that any other people beside me will also presume the same thing, since…" he trailed off.

She took his bait intentionally, "Since what?"

"Since, my princess, we no longer have way to travel to the other dimension," the sad look on his face was so fake that she was no longer be able to cover up her glare, "I am afraid that you have no way to go home."

-.-.-

He could tell that she was upset.

It had been late when the dinner finished. The two patricians went out of the dining hall together, the duke opened the door for the princess, ordering the two guards in front of the door to escort her to her chamber. They exchanged 'good night' properly, the duke bowed while the princess curtsied, and both of them looked as dignified as ever. For any other people the dinner seemed perfectly fine. But he knew that it didn't.

He was not able to hear their entire conversation, since the two people talked in such low voices, yet, he was sure that whatever they had talked about was not a nice topic.

She even didn't want to look at him.

Heero followed her every movements with his eyes, accompanying her in silence. And because the other guard was also quiet, the three of them ascended to her room without talking.

He was dismayed by her ignorance. It was just a few hours ago when they were together, she was so kind and caring and full of enthusiasm. Now she was alerted, weighted by an effort to not let any weakness emerged. He didn't like these times when she hid behind her nobility, it emerged a strange, stolid feeling in the depth of his heart. It worried him.

What had caused that cordial side of her to vanish?

She slowed her steps when they reached the door of her room. The other guard beside him had begun to bow, ready to return to the base floor, when she turned to them. He, however, stayed still, his eyes searching for hers.

Her right hand was on the door knob, the door was opened in a crack, emitting dim candle lights out. The indistinct light was touching her face, her lean cheeks, and her golden hair, as she finally lifted her blue eyes to meet his.

It was as if her pretence was breaking at last, her eyes melting into a sad, sustained stare. She looked as if she was apologizing to him, for a reason that he couldn't understand.

"…good night," she whispered.

Then before he could utter any words, she walked into the room, and the door was closed behind her.

…

…

…

Ring… ring… ring…

The clear tingling sound drew her attention immediately. Her vision, blurry and unfocused, was averted to the source of the noise. It sounded familiar to her ears.

As the ringing sound continued, she blinked a few times, hoping to clear her sight. Yet the thin fog which was covering her surrounding still stayed. Her senses were not working properly, she felt a numb sensation on her, as if a part of her was conscious, while her other part was asleep.

She heard footsteps coming to her.

A vague figure of a man hovered above the source of the sound. And the ringing sound died after a soft click sound was heard.

She barely guessed the murmur which was heard from the direction as conversation. _What was the man talking about?_

The soft click was heard again, and the whispers stopped. Then she heard the footsteps went farther. And she walked through the fog, following the footsteps.

A creaking door opened. Her eyes saw curtains and a bed shaped form in the room. And it, again, looked familiar.

"Mr. Darlian, sire, there was a call from Sir Trent."

This time the voice was clear enough for her to hear. And she recognized the owner of the voice instantly. _Pagan!_

She averted her eyes to the bed, where two figures were on it. Her heart was wrenched in longing, and although her eyes still couldn't see the figures clearly, she knew exactly who they were.

_Mother_… The tears in her eyes blurred her vision more. _Father…_

"Has he found her yet?" The sound of her mother's voice made her sobbed slightly.

"He has captured the people who set the explosive in Mr. Darlian's car, ma'am," replied the old butler, "Yet…"

At the discontinued sentence, the soft-spoken lady broke into tears, and the figure who was lying on the bed moved a little to shed her tears.

"Don't worry, dear, we will definitely find her," said the deep voice of her father, which wavered a little because of obvious sadness.

How she wished she could tell them that she was here!

She called them, cried to them. But they couldn't hear any of her calls. The strange fog was still around her, and no matter how she tried to come to them, she was invisible in their eyes.

The kind old butler took some steps backward, giving the master and his wife a private time to share their sadness. And after the door was closed again, solitude darkness fell to the room, and her vision became all black.

…

…

…

Without opening her eyes, she knew that what she had seen was just a dream.

And because of the knowledge, she was reluctant to wake up, to find that the ones whom she loved with all her heart were far away in separated world, while she was alone here… imprisoned in a foreign dimension. With no way to return.

No way to return… the sentence sounded so grave, echoing in her ears and didn't seem to leave her alone. She felt herself on the verge of tears. _No!_

She hit the mattress below her with both of her hands.

_Is there really no way to come back?_ The question startled her, her mind racing in her head. _Yes, there may be none in this land, in this nation. But how about the other places?_

She jumped from her bed, her determination to find a way to go home was renewed because of the dream. Her precious people were waiting for her, she should never allow anyone to rule her, to deter her determination. Moreover a man named Treize Kushrenada.

The proud lord might see himself, that she was not one who gave in easily.

-.-.-

The first news he heard the next morning was about the princess. She was missing. The maids who went to fetch her breakfast tray found that her room was empty.

The women were panicked, they came running straight to the security base, calling for the general. He calmed them down, reasoning that the princess might just stroll around the castle as usual.

"But her doors are not locked, and her breakfast hasn't been touched any!" their voices vied with each other, making the other people could hardly hear them, "She never leaves her room this early, something must have happened to her!"

The general decided to concede, ordering the soldiers to search for her whereabouts. Messages were sent to the entire castle, that anyone who saw the princess should inform the general himself immediately. The two maids quieted down a bit after that.

But Heero didn't feel any relief.

And both of the women didn't too, when an hour had passed and there was still no report of the princess. The general was astonished, he couldn't believe that the princess was truly missing.

"Not in the garden too?" he asked the guards, "How about the library? Has anyone checked the library?"

Their tight faces nodded lowly, mumbling negative comments, "We have checked everywhere, General."

"Keep on looking," the man barked to his subordinates, and to the maids he said, "You just wait in the princess's chamber, she will eventually be back by herself."

"No, sire, we will also look for her," replied the maids, "We don't have much time left, we must find her."

The general lowered his gaze to the women, "What do you mean we don't have much time left?"

"Actually, sire, Your Excellency Lord Kushrenada has requested a lunch with the princess this afternoon," they explained, paling considerably, "If he knows that the princess is missing then…"

Even the general lost his wit hearing the sentence.

"Send all of our troops," he roared to his men, "We are going to find the princess!"

Heero took his chance to slip off in the middle of the turbulence. Alone, apart from his group, he ran to her room. Her doors were opened to the outside, as the maids had said, but was she really missing? He entered her chamber, examining all parts of the room, feeling familiar already with the arrangement of her furniture, even though he had just been in the room once. Twice if the event of him coming back to her room on that day counted.

There was no sign of someone barged in. There was no sign of the girl either.

His blood went wild. The soldiers said that she was not anywhere in the castle, then where she possibly went?

Then his eyes caught the waving curtains of the tall glass windows. The wind was coming in from outside, it meant…

He rushed to the balcony door, and exactly as his prediction, it was left opened. He stepped to the balcony, hoping to find her there. Unfortunately, no one was there, but there were some shining silvery feathers scattered on the white floor. And the feathers were hers.

_Did she go outside?_ The idea brought him terror. She didn't know that the land outside the castle walls was dangerous, something might _**really**_ happen to her by this very minute.

Without wasting any second to think over it, he put off his helmet and started to strip off his metal armor. It had been more than one hour since she was gone, her safety was unsecured. With that single thought in his head, he spread out his black wings and took off to the sky, looking for the missing girl.

He searched for a pair of white wings. Yet as far as his eyes told him, she was nowhere in the sky.

His cold, objective logic was the one thing he had always used in critical times like this. He had to be calm. She shouldn't go that far.

He searched the area systematically, flying low in circles, focusing his eyes to the land below. Each time his eyes saw a rift and poisonous yellow smoke coming from the crack, he winced. No, she was not that stupid to come near such places, was she?

So he averted his eyes to a desolate area, a dried up swamp, which was the only area covered by trees. The woods were also dangerous at night, but he reminded himself that the night had not yet to come. And so it made the most harmless place of all other places. Wishing in silence that she chose the place to head for, he landed on the edge of the forest and begun his quest.

-.-.-

She could see some lights ahead, the forest had come to an end.

Stepping out of the trees, she covered her eyes with her hand. It was hot, she noticed, the most obvious difference between the inside and the border of the forest was its contrast temperature. Restraining the desire to step back to the woods, she continued to walk ahead. But after some steps, she was forced to stop. A massive crack on the ground opened up before her, smoldering slight yellowish fog.

She didn't know what she was looking for. How silly of her, thinking that she would find a way to go home if she went out of the castle. Standing on the edge of the giant rift, she looked through the smoky haze, thinking about the dream she had last night.

She didn't feel like coming back right now, she just wanted to go as far as possible from here. She didn't want to be a controlled string doll, giving up to the realistic despair was like giving up the possibility to go home. That was why she went out, eluding the proud lord's invitation for lunch meal.

But what was she doing here? She couldn't find an answer for that.

She was still absorbed in her thoughts when a hand caught her wrist and yanked her back. Surprised and not prepared, she couldn't stop herself from falling backward. And so she fell to strong arms of the person behind her.

-.-.-

Anything which he had been thinking flew off his head when he felt her warm body in his embrace.

She was so light, that when he pulled her hand back, the force caused her to fall to him. He caught her at the last second, unintentionally positioning her in his arms.

That was a big mistake, a bloody terrible mistake. The feeling of her lying on his chest, her golden hair caressed his cheek slightly, was more than enough to push all relevant thoughts away.

His blood flared through his body – the same way he had felt when he heard she was missing this morning – but this time, it was for a different reason. He felt dizzy, his mind was unfocused, and he wasn't able to think of anything at all. He forgot the warnings he intended to say to her, he forgot his original purpose to bring her back to the castle, he even forgot the reason why he came to the place at the first time.

After some seconds, he felt her moving, lifting herself. Her weight left him, together with her warmness and the smell of her scent. He tried to ignore that thought. Then she turned to him, her blue eyes scanned his face, watchful at first, then with a new profound interest, before she relaxed in the end.

He was surprised when he heard her laugh. She was laughing in front of him, not too loudly, but lightheartedly, and without a clear reason, he felt a sense of relief washed through him. That was a sense he knew, a sense he was familiar with, since he had felt it more than one time when he was with her.

But still, he couldn't quite place the feeling.

-.-.-

She was still giggling when the boy threw her a sour look.

"I almost don't recognize you," she pointed his green tank-top, "Where did you leave the heavy armor of yours?"

He was annoyed with her, she was sure of it. Yet it didn't decrease the happy feeling she felt in her heart. The feeling was so overwhelming, she couldn't stop smiling.

The boy had been searching for her. She felt so glad, so happy because of that thought only.

She took the hand which was extended to her, letting him help her to stand up. He guided her back into the woods, away from the crack and the yellow fog, and she followed him willingly. She just stopped him when she saw his left elbow bleeding.

"You are wounded!"

He examined the wound for some seconds before decided that it wasn't a trivial injury. It was not more than a scratch, in fact, but she knew that he got it when he made himself cover for her fall. And it made her feel guilty.

-.-.-

He didn't understand why she concerned so much about the injury. It was just a small wound, he didn't even feel it until she told him. But he let her to take a look at it, shivering a bit when her hands touched his left arm. And she, taking his shaking as a pain, gave him an apologetic look.

He watched her cleaning the cut – now had begun to heal as she kept her hands on it – and felt strange. Again, the familiarity of her touch, of her presence, lingered on his senses. To be honest, it felt eerie.

He took a check on her, not wanting to dwell on the thought, making sure that she didn't get hurt. His eyes halted at her temple, the side of her head which had been covered with bandages the previous day, where he found a light bluish scar on her porcelain skin. He noticed her breathing went faster when he carefully moved her bangs away to examine the wound more closely, but she didn't draw back at his touch.

As if she heard his unspoken question, she answered him, "I can't heal my own wounds. Not very practical, is it?"

She might see something in his eyes, because she tried to ease him with her smile. He finally let go of her, almost the same time when she let go of his arm, and he found that the wound had recovered with no trace.

"Thank you."

She smiled again, shaking her head slightly, "Thank _**you**_. For going after me to this place."

He remembered that he needed to warn her, so he spoke up, "You shouldn't go alone, you know."

"…I know," she replied, and the sadness returned to her eyes. The same sadness which he saw in her the previous night, the same sadness he saw at the first day she arrived in this world.

He tried to ask her, "…what is it?"

She lifted her eyes to him, "I don't want to go back to the castle."

He blinked at her, pausing, hesitating, then he nodded.

"All right."

She looked back at him, unsure. He just walked to a tree, plopping down, gesturing her to take a seat beside him. She followed him, and even in her white dress she managed to sit down with natural grace. She was avoiding his eyes for some minutes, and he waited, he waited until she turned to him, looked straight into his eyes, and began to talk.

She told him about her conversation with the leader of OZ last night, she told him about her longing desire to go home, about the dream of her parents she had, then about how low the possibility for her to return to Earth. He couldn't answer her when she asked him for the second time whether he knew a way to travel across dimensions, because he couldn't bear to break her heart more, but she seemed to understand without him saying anything.

Just like when she first came to this world, when they were at her balcony, he just listened to her, not once saying a word. And when she ran out of things to be told, he let the silence surrounded them, the peaceful atmosphere of the forest enveloped them. She didn't seem to mind his silence, leaning on the tree, relaxing gradually. In that way they spent the entire noon, sitting below the tree, enjoying each other company.

"Is it so strange if I say I value you more than the entire castle?"

It was a random, plaintive question, and he needed a few seconds to answer. "You don't know me."

"Well, you don't know me either."

He opened up his mouth to argue, yet she beat him for that chance.

"Not 'Princess' or 'Your Highness'. I doubt you even know my name," she said, successfully made him to close his mouth.

Yes he knew that she was a Peacecraft, he knew that she had a pair of wings and an ability to heal wounds, he knew that she was kind and full of determination, that she was fragile but in the same time strong, that she might seem cold and distant but was actually pure at heart, and that there was not even an ounce of her that tainted with bad intention. He knew her, except that he didn't know her name.

"Since we never have time to introduce ourselves, let's do it now," she suggested, smiling at his lack of answer, "My name is Relena. What is your name?"

So it was her name. He repeated the word again and again in his head, somehow feeling as if he had ever heard it before. But where and when, he couldn't remember.

He looked at the girl, she was still waiting for his answer. She only asked for his name, not his identity, what was the danger in the question?

"It is Heero," he answered her, "Heero Yuy."

"Heero," she called him, "Do you mind if I call you that?"

He shook his head. Her smile widened.

"In any ways, Heero…," the way she pronounced his name sent a shiver through his back, "…I am grateful for all you have done for me. Thank you."

And she stood up, deciding that it was the time to go back, saying that in spite of how much she didn't like to be in the castle, she had no other place to go. It was sad, but they both knew that it was also true.

So they walked through the woods, her taking the lead, heading back to the castle. Some late-afternoon lights break through the green canopy, and in the middle of the golden rays, she walked through the trees in her usual light steps. It might be just his hallucination, but he saw distinct images each time he set his eyes on her, the images which were blinked and gone in a second, leaving an odd, familiar feeling in his chest.

_**The image came so clear as if it was happening once more time…**_

The feeling was getting stronger as they were closer to the castle, as she kept paying glances to him, catching his eyes with hers now and again. The strange sense of anticipation came back to him, more intensely than ever.

And when they entered the castle's garden, the feeling pressed him so vehemently that his heart started to ache inside his chest. He watched her looking up to her balcony, feeling her so close, her slender figure, her golden hair… while she was oblivious to what he was feeling right now.

…_**a girl inside the garden looked at him with her blue eyes, her golden hair glistened from sunlight...**_

She spread out her white wings, the wings sparkling under the evening light, and she turned to face him.

…_**a pair of pure white wings sprouted from her back…**_

His heart froze to lead in his chest, squashing the air out of his lungs.

It was as though the clock was reversed, the time went backwards, and all those dim memories came into light. The tiniest details were recalled, and in flashes, the dream was alive once again.

_Ah… it was those eyes…_

She smiled at him, in such a tender way, in the exactly same way which he had seen her smiled before. The images from the present and the past were overlapping on each other, he could hardly separate them.

…_**and she offered him a smile.**_

Understanding the familiar feeling which he felt towards the girl in front of him, he remembered.

_It was those same eyes… which stared at me… at that time._

-.-.-

She looked down her balcony, watching the boy turned around and left the garden, hoping he would look back, giving her a last glance.

Somehow, she felt very disappointed when he didn't. Closing her eyes to prevent her from looking down to the empty garden any longer, she took a deep breath. She didn't know why couldn't stop herself from staring below once more time, although she knew that he was no longer there.

She forced herself to move, to open the glass door, to go into her room. Yet, the heavy sentiment she felt in her heart just didn't seem to fade away.

She didn't know that the boy did come back, that he stayed at her balcony all night, staring at the closed door of her room. She didn't know that he watched her sleep with a deep, melancholy stare, before he went to leave her. And neither did she know that he would never return to the castle again.

-.-.-

End of Chapter Six

~o~

**A/N : It is hard to be understood, the puzzle of feelings. Only by following our emotion, relying on intuition, we can get closer to the solution.**

At last, he recognizes her. Will the realization bring them together? Or will it tear them apart? There is no way to see through one's heart, and while some feelings are kept unsaid, the other will never be able to figure it out.

* * *

He just learns what he feels for her. And the depth of what he tries to learn, his own feelings, scares him.

_**~"Repetitive dreams, multiply coincidences... Never has fate been something he believes in, but he can't find another explanation."~**_

_**(Chapter Seven : Shadow)**_

Be patient with my unsteady progress, my dear. I hope you enjoy the chapter!


	8. Chapter Seven : Shadow

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : It is not much, but I think I am getting better.**

It is very pleasing to know that there are people who appreciate my imperfect writing. (smiles happily) God, I never expect this many reviews to come to my fortune! I want to thank you all : dearest Illico (I've had _Promnesia_ edited, thanks to you again), dear talkstoangels77 (hi again, my dear), dear Relwarcn (thanks, oh, and I am open to another advice), dear Miss Terra (I really owe you for fixing my errors), dear JasLine (wow, such accurate conjecture… am I that easy to be read?), dear islandgirlzee (such praise, thank you!) and dear Celanire Fitzgerald (thanks for adding me to your Favourite Authors list). Your appreciations have given me some pride!

Okay, now to the story. For you, my dear readers, who may feel discomfort reading my previous-damn-too-long chapters, I now return to my original five thousand words template. Hope you can enjoy it more!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Seven : Shadow_

~o~

**shadow** _n_ **1** [C, U] shade or comparative darkness **2 **[C] a hint or faint, indistinct image or idea **3 **[U] instance of mistrust, doubt, dissension

* * *

_**~"So near… yet so far away, the heart of yours."~**_

_**

* * *

**_Relena had to admit that this man had an excellent taste.

The duke's personal room, which was always locked during the days she stayed in the castle, was huge. And as deluxe as the way the duke presented himself, his room was as luxurious. The room's high ceiling was decorated with fine painting and coordinated carved border, a grand chandelier was placed in the center of a vault. Tall bookcases stood at the far sides of the room, filled with various kind of literature. A wide wooden desk was located in the center of the room, in front of the glass windows, which curtains were put at both sides of the windows, allowing enough sunlight to pass through. And behind the desk, below a vertical dark-navy banner with shining image of lion head and golden tassels at its lower side, there was the duke himself, sitting on his high throne.

She was not sure whether there was other man who could fit so comfortably with such extravagant environment. This man had such a strong presence that could stand up to the room's extreme abundance. She saw it now, when the man dropped his amiable pretence, staring at her with cold eyes.

This morning was the first time they met face-to-face after her secret leave yesterday. And from his dark expression, she could tell that he was not pleased with the event.

She knew that the man, as the lord of the castle, empowered her in every aspect. Yet, she had sworn herself not to let him rule her. And for that swear, she would not cower in front of him, in spite of anything.

So she looked up to him, countering his stare with one of her own. Heavy silence lasted for seconds until the man broke it with his greeting. "Princess."

"Sir Treize," she greeted back.

He stood from her seat, inviting her to come closer. With a gesture of his hand, a marble chair was moved to the front of his desk. "Please have a seat."

Relena took her place quietly, observing his expression. He just turned his back on her, his eyes wandering outside.

"I feel adequately disappointed, my princess," he spoke, still not looking at her, "…about yesterday."

"I can't understand why you ruminate over it so much, sire," she pressed down a chill which was caused by his icy tone, "Although I am deeply sorry for missing our appointment for lunch."

She prepared herself to deal with his rage. If this man is going to throw a fit, it was better now when she had prepared herself to defend.

As expected, he threw her a pointed look.

"It was my fault that I failed to tell you before, for that I beg your pardon," he walked around the desk, "The land outside the castle's walls is full of danger, and so was your little stroll, _alone_, yesterday."

"It _could be_ dangerous," she corrected daringly, "Yet it wasn't, since I returned without facing any harm."

She let her words sink for some minutes. The proud lord seemed to notice the other meaning behind those words. Yes, she _**had**_ come back to the castle. And so she showed that she had no intention to abscond, even when she had the chance.

The man's tight face slackened a bit after that.

"Set aside my dreadful worry then," he said after a while, a calm smirk graced his lips, "I think we should be grateful for your safe return."

Biting back a sharp reply, she forced a smile out.

"I actually don't mind our cancelled lunch at all, we can reschedule it anyway…," her smile stiffened at his words, "But I couldn't be that sure about the other people."

He moved closer, leaning to the desk, standing in front of her.

"The general and his men were searching for you, my princess, do you know that?"

"I wish I could tell them my compunction," she replied carefully, "I didn't mean to cause commotion."

_Did they get punished because of me?_

As if knowing her weakness, he continued. "And the poor maids too, they were scared to death when they found that you were missing."

_Oh God._

She tried her best to feign ignorance, betraying the pressure of guilt in her heart. He might expect her to crack at his words, that heartless, malicious lord.

She swallowed her curse.

"Well, I think I should see them to say my personal apology," she said as casually as possible, "I hope they would accept it like you do, sire, who don't mind this event at all."

The man caught the hidden message favorably, his pleasant smirk grew wider. She gritted her teeth, hiding her annoyance beyond a smile. At least she was sure that he would not drag this issue any longer.

-.-.-

_Impressive._

Sitting on his tall chair, Treize Kushrenada stared to the closed door to which the princess dismissed herself a while ago. He was all impressed by the intelligence of the young lady, amazed with her clever remarks. She turned his own words to him, not even a little looking intimidated by his power.

He chuckled to himself. The pretty princess whom he had brought to this land, unlike all the assumptions and guesses, was neither tame, nor meek, nor obedient.

And all the more interesting because of it.

-.-.-

In the darkness of the night, a secret conversation was held in low voices.

"I see… OZ has got hold of the princess."

"Yes."

"…Good job, Heero. Keep an eye on the situation."

A pair of cold Prussian blue eyes was set to the castle, to the glass windows of the castle's high balcony.

"Acknowledged."

-.-.-

Relena stood near her windows, facing the balcony, secretly watching the usual two maids served her breakfast on the table. The dishes were clattering a little as they put the silver tray down impetuously. She knew why the maids hurried like that.

They were scared.

It couldn't be helped, she thought. She couldn't expect them to be friendly to her, especially after her missing event. She suspected that they had taken most of the blame, who knew what the duke had done to them as punishment.

She had tried to talk with them, with no result. They were still afraid of her in spite of her words of comfort.

She decided to keep her contact with the two maids as low as she could. She couldn't bear to see them paled and trembled in front of her, as if she was a kind of horrifying monster. Moreover, they seemed so much at peace when she wasn't around them.

Actually, she was really sorry for them, and more than a little sad to lose the closeness she had felt with the two maids.

But if they were now prefer to take distance from her, then so be it.

-.-.-

The windows of the duke's room were all closed, except for one. And from the only opened window, a dark brown creature flew in, alighting itself on the golden edge of the duke's tall chair. The handsome noble who was sitting on the chair extended his gloved hand, and the creature obediently complied, floating to his palm.

With a pop sound, the magical creature melted down, leaving only a white envelope on his hand. An envelope which supported two sinister twin unicorns on its seal.

Seeing the crimson emblem, his eyes narrowed. It was the sign of the Romefeller's dreamseer.

-.-.-

She never felt this anxious before.

The two guards, who were assigned to watch over her by the duke's order, were positively confused with her. She purposely ignored them, continuing her quick steps through the hall, making them half-running in trailing her.

_Heero, where are you?_

She had checked every room in the castle, the basement, the garden, everywhere. Yet, he was nowhere to be found.

She pushed the library's doors open, only to find that he was not there either. Staring blankly into the room, to the dim light of the dusk which was fading outside the windows, she clutched the door's handle tightly.

When the men finally caught up to her, she lugged the doors to shut, then silently walked away from the room. She walked slowly this time – to the guards' surprise, her eyes trained on the floor.

Night was falling quickly as she went towards her chamber. The lights on the stone walls flamed up by itself, one by one around her. But she had no attention to the marvelous sight.

_Why does he suddenly stop seeing her?_

She glanced at the two men behind her.

_Is it caused by the security?_

She could understand that he didn't want to attract attention by seeing her, by appearing close with her. She had accepted that she probably wouldn't have any chance to talk to him with two soldiers following her everywhere.

She just wanted to see him.

_Has he gone out of the castle?_

It was the most likely possibility. Thinking it over, he never said how long he would be here. He might not intend to stay at all.

For a second, she wondered whether he left because of her nuisance, because of her missing event the day before, just like the maids, who were evading her because of it.

_No_, she said to herself. The last time she saw him he didn't look angry with her. Perhaps it was simply the time for him to leave.

Still, he had gone without saying good bye. He might not consider it important, they weren't that close anyway.

She entered her chamber without looking back, leaving the two guards outside her door. Leaning her head and shoulder on the locked door, she closed her eyes.

The thought made her feel hollow.

-.-.-

Behind the gate's iron bars, there were half a dozen soldiers guarding the entrance of the castle. Heero noticed the significant ascension in the number of the guards, yet his instinct told him to suspect more than the perceptible accretion.

He stretched his palm, holding it still to the direction of the castle's main gate.

The magical circles which were carved on the stone pillars of the gate and on the ground in the area glowed in fluorescent green light, contrast with the darkness of the night. Very neat trick, he thought, using invisible protection charm around the gate. Inexperienced trespassers would have fallen to the trap.

He dropped his hand, the glowing light died down together with the move.

The castle was now very well-guarded. He was almost sure that the other ways to get inside were also safe-secured.

He sneered at the gate. Very funny, just a few days ago, the gate was practically left unguarded. Now, the entire castle was provided by a safety which could be compared to the palace's security. It supposed to be a wise act then, that he had discontinued his disguise before getting caught. The risk level was now too high to be afforded.

Such tight security might be related to the presence of infamous Treize Kushrenada in the castle. But somehow he got a presupposition that it was more caused by the message which was brought by the brown-winged messenger this afternoon.

He had failed to hack the message. The brown-winged creature, unexpectedly, was shielded by a strong magic. Anyone who had sent it must possess terrific power. If there was a way to know from where the message came from…

But not tonight, certainly not tonight.

Returning to his monitoring spot in the shades, he stared to the castle. Unconsciously, almost automatically, his eyes darted to the high balcony of the castle again.

He watched the light which was coming from the glass windows faded out, knowing that she was about to call the day off, that another day would pass without them seeing each other.

With this measure of surveillance, he wouldn't have any chance to be near her.

And maybe it was better like this.

-.-.-

This young lady never ceased to amaze him.

He smiled against his glass of wine, before wearing back his calm mask and giving his reply. "Pardon me, my princess, what did you ask just now?"

"I said," she repeated her question, "What is your intention of bringing me to this place?"

He put down his glass, looking to the seat which was placed across the long table. She was not smiling, the occupant of the seat, it was clear that his princess had been tired of their elusive conversation. Not that he hadn't thought of that, he was actually expecting her to initiate this kind of question during their lunch this afternoon. Yet, he hadn't expected her to be this straightforward.

"I remember I have told you before, princess, I wish to help you," he stepped aside, telling her the answer he had prepared, the one he had said when they first met.

Unsatisfied by his answer, she looked directly into his eyes, her gaze firm and demanding.

"What do you want from me?"

Too blunt, he appraised. Such way of talking would be hard to be accepted by Romefeller's high society. Very lamentable.

The corner of his lips turned up a little as he smirked.

-.-.-

The question was risky, she knew, yet she had to perceive the reason. She had to know the _**real**_ reason, why she was brought to this world. And she didn't want some knotty excuses.

She had fed up with his abstruse reply.

Relena watched the man straightened his position, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. She waited, maintaining her patience, and before long he spoke up again.

"I want to help you to return to your birth land, the place where you should be," he began, "…regaining your right, the throne of your kingdom."

_Cliché_, she thought. Well, at least she got something. "What fortune do you get from that?"

"Nothing," he smiled wickedly, "I just hope we can maintain our good, friendly relationship."

She almost wrinkled her nose at that sentence. Telling herself to not get distracted, she thought over the sentence.

And she came to a conclusion.

"Our kingdom's relation isn't well, is it?"

"Not very good, indeed," he said off-handedly.

His tone was light, as if it wasn't too important. Yet, because she had learnt about his artful play, she was sure that it meant worse than that, far worse…

Something clicked in her head.

"So by helping me to gain rulership, you hope to get a commission from me," she might sound accusing, she didn't care. How dare him to get her into this kind of scheme!

Oddly, he stayed calm. "I only try to build a diplomatic bridge, by showing my hospitality to you."

"I don't owe you anything, you brought me here without my approval," she stated heatedly.

"Well, the people of Sanq may think differently, my princess," he reasoned, "Since it is me who brings you back to your kingdom."

She went silent at the retort. He did have a point.

"What if I refuse to go to Sanq?"

"Then you can stay here in this castle, or in the capital perhaps, until the emissary from Sanq come to fetch you," he offered generously, "Whichever you choose, my princess."

_What if I elude all your choices?_

She just about to say that, but apparently this man could read that thought. He smiled enigmatically.

_Do you think that I will let you escape easily this time?_

She gave him a glare, unwilling to bend before him. But she knew, as he also knew, that she didn't have that choice.

She had to think of something else.

"…I hardly believe that they will accept me."

His smile fell as he blinked. "Pardon me?"

"The people of Sanq," she said, "They probably won't accept me as their princess, don't you think? There is no proof, and for all they know, I can be an impostor."

Even she herself couldn't believe the statement until now. She wondered how this man could be so sure that she was the princess whom he looked for.

Yet instead of proofing the fact like she had expected him to do, he just looked at her.

"What do you think they will do then?" he asked, examining her intently.

Slightly annoyed that he answered her question with another question, she shuffled up her reply. "They will discover that I am not their princess, and quickly get me out of the palace."

"That is one possibility," he agreed, "But it is not the only one. And considering the usual human way of thinking, there is another possibility which most likely to happen."

Now she was curious of his quizzical statement.

"They can gladly and trustingly welcome me back as their princess…, but it is not the possibility which you are talking about, is it?"

"It is a possibility which I wish to happen the most," he told her, "But no, it isn't."

She racked her mind harder. They could believe in her, they could reject her. What else would they possibly do?

She glanced at the man in front of him. What did she think when he told him that she was a princess?

She had doubted him.

-.-.-

The silence stretched long in the dining hall. He watched her expression changed as thoughts passing in her mind.

"If," her voice was low, "…some people accept me, but some others don't… what will happen?"

Another brilliant guess. This young princess was too bright, too observant for her own good.

Keeping the comment to himself, he crossed his hands.

"The usual plot which always takes place when the legitimacy of a throne inheritor is doubted, what do you think will happen?"

Her answer was short. "There will be riot, chaos."

"War."

Her eyes widened at his word.

Ah yes, he had forgotten that his princess came from a relatively peaceful world.

"…you have anticipated this possibility, haven't you?"

_Her voice wavers_, he mused thoughtfully, apparently this sharp-witted lady was still an innocent after all.

"I have thought of some ways to turn that situation to my advantage," he declared openly, "Although I am wishing that such tragic history has not to be repeated."

If she was intrigued by his offensive statement, she didn't show it. Instead, she stayed impassive, lost in her thought.

He could understand. The revelation was hard enough, and he was willing to give her time.

"Take your time to decide, my princess… as long as you are in my protection, I promise to take a very good care of you." he said, ending their discussion for today. Or so he had thought.

"I will go to Sanq."

His shock was doubled over her change of heart. He had truly not expected her to agree this soon. After a few persuasions, perhaps, or maybe a forceful command but…

But seemingly she hadn't run out of surprise.

He was still stunned when she faced him again, her eyes hard of resolution. Then she opened her mouth again and added, "As soon as possible."

Precisely the answer he wanted to hear. What could he do except acceded?

"I will arrange the needed preparation," he gave in.

She simply nodded, and him, unable to contain his curiousness, asked, "But why so sudden?"

"Like you've said before, sire, _I_ _am free to_ _choose_," she emphasized her words, maintaining her ground, looking all confident, "I do this because I want to, not because you tell me to do so."

Her verdict seemed compulsive and rushed, yet the even placidity he saw in her showed that she had been certain with her choice. In that short of time, she had made a decision. And a wise one nonetheless.

Really, he had more than just fascinated. He had begun to take interest in her.

"Whatever you want to do, my princess," he smiled pleasantly, "Whatever you wish."

-.-.-

A few days later, the castle got another visitor.

A cavalry, a legion of winged stallions with two short horns on its head, disembarked on the castle's front yard, causing loud flapping noise. A slender figure slid of the black creature, landing gracefully to the ground. The person signaled the other soldiers to wait with one hand, before walking towards the castle.

The guards quickly closed the entrance, barring the person to come in.

"State your identity!"

"I am the leader of Lake Victoria Cavalry," the dark-haired lieutenant smiled calmly, "Tell Lord Treize that Lucrezia Noin has come to see him."

-.-.-

The lord of the castle was visibly deflated hearing the news.

"I believe that I have told Lady Une to keep it a secret," he said.

She gave him a nod, "She does, but apparently rumors about Sanq kingdom's heiress have spread without our interference. The dreamseers of neighboring countries have also seen that she has returned to this land."

"The noblemen want some explanations, I guess?"

Again, she nodded.

"You should be back to the capital immediately, my lord," she told him, "The situation is getting harder to be controlled."

Intertwining his hands on the table, he sighed. "I can't leave the princess."

"You can take her to the capital with you," she said, not understanding his reluctance.

The lord lifted up his eyes. She watched him opened up a drawer, taking out a white envelope. Shoving the letter on the table, he said, "Read this."

As she took up the envelope, he stood up from his chair, turning to his tall windows. She observed the familiar emblem on its seal for a minute, recognizing where it came from, before unfolding the paper inside.

Her eyes bulged out reading its content.

"This… Is it about…?"

"Yes," he confirmed, still not facing her, "The princess."

Waking from her astonished state, she asked, "What will you do, milord?"

"Noin," he turned to her, "I want to ask you a favor."

-.-.-

After she agreed, the duke didn't waste any time to send for the princess. After a moment of waiting, a knock broke in, causing the duke to lift his head, and her to stand from her seat.

The princess had come.

A golden-haired girl opened the door quietly, and Noin watched in interest, focusing her attention in examining the girl.

The first thing she noticed about the princess is her youthful appearance. The princess looked younger, and much prettier, than she had imagined her to be.

"Sir Treize," she greeted formally, curtsying in one flowing movement. And the second thing Noin noted from the princess was her excellent manner. She wondered how this girl learnt them, since she had grown up in the other world, outside royal society.

Then she lifted her eyes, a pair of clear blue eyes, gazing at her for a moment.

The short moment, her stare, gave her anything she wanted to know. Her stare was full of strength, and coming from her very young visage, it looked almost stubborn. Her powerful stare betrayed the docile impression which was forming in Noin's mind.

She turned to the duke, still wearing the strong, undeterred gaze, and asked, "For what do you call me this time?"

"Princess," he answered after she had sat down, "I think we should delay our trip to Sanq, I need to return to the capital."

Noin stared at her lord blankly, didn't he just ask her to…?

"I don't see why it should be cancelled," the pointed reply made Noin turn her head to the princess, "I am fine by myself."

He countered her, "You can't possibly go alone."

"I am _not_ a captive," she snapped, rising from her seat, "I don't need you to keep me secured all the time."

And all the remaining delicate illusions of the princess broke with that sharp sentence.

Noin thought she saw a smirk crossed on the duke's face before he looked at her direction again. She looked back at him, understanding her lord's intention.

"Will you let me accompany you in your travel to Sanq, milady?"

The princess blinked at her. "You are…?"

"Lucrezia Noin, lady, pleased to meet you," she lowered her head.

"Pleased to meet you too," she said politely, throwing suspicious glance towards the duke.

"She is a lieutenant of a strong cavalry, princess," he said with a smile, "And she is also a dear friend of mine. You will be safe with her."

"You arrange this, don't you?" her tone was cold.

"For both our good," he answered, "You don't want the trip to be canceled. And I certainly will not let you go by yourself."

She thought for a moment, and Noin, seeing her disliked expression, thought that she would argue again. But no, she didn't.

"Thank you for your offer," she said to her, "I hope we have a good companionship."

Accepting the arrangement, she was turning into the calm, compliant princess whom Noin had always imagined, radiating a sincere form of friendliness. She started to see a plain, hidden innocence beyond the rebelliousness, beyond the girl's sharp words.

She smiled to the princess.

Genuinely, she smiled back.

And with that, they somehow compromised an agreement.

"Very interesting princess, don't you think, Noin?" the duke commented amusedly after the princess had left.

Dully comparing her to the images of other princesses whom she had chance to meet, Noin found that this one princess was unusual indeed.

-.-.-

Relena smoothed her brown-coloured suit, folding up the excessive sleeves.

Since the duke didn't bring her any clothes beside dresses, she had found difficulty in packing her clothes for the journey. Of course she couldn't wear a skirt while travelling with a military corps, moreover while riding on dragonic Pegasus – whatever the name of the creature.

Miss Noin had been kind enough to offer her clothes, but unfortunately their size was too different. She had to borrow some shirts and pants from the maids in the end, and although it was still a little too big for her, the clothes were already the best she could have for this time.

She decided to leave most of the duke's gifts behind, the jewelry and the dresses, she didn't need them. Actually she had meant to leave all of them, but Miss Noin, who had helped her to pack, convinced her to bring at least some. A princess had to dress up appropriately in front of her people, she said. Considering her opinion, she put a pair of earrings and two dresses in her load at the last minutes, and left the rest lay on her bed.

Hovering above the pile of dresses, she put a white piece of paper, a message, on the top of the pile. She had thought about it, the good maids could have the dresses if they wanted them. After all, they had lent her the clothes she needed, and she wasn't sure whether she could return the clothing to them.

Because she didn't intend to come back.

Taking her pack and her cloak, she put them on the table in the corner of the room. She opened the door to the balcony and stepped outside. The orange sky was bright today. The wind played with her hair, and she stayed idle, letting her thought wander.

She didn't know whether she had made a right decision. After finding out the reason why she had been called to this world, apart from her home, she had been wavering.

At first, she only thought how she could come back home, but now, her heart was torn in deciding. It might sound nuts, but when the duke told her the story about her origin, while a part of her denied his words, the other part _**accepted**_ it. A part of her accepted his words as explanation of all her oddities, her strange ability, her wings, and the fact… the fact that her parents weren't blood-related with her.

When she started to believe it, her being at home with her caring parents seemed fake and false. Suddenly, the thought to go home seemed, she didn't know, it just felt… wrong.

But if she didn't belong to her home – or more exactly, a place which she had always thought as her home, where should she go? Where should she return?

She even didn't know who she really was. It was like losing the ground to stand on, it was frightening.

She needed to learn about herself, and this world, to know what she should do. She needed a proof, a confirmation.

And with this journey, she was going to find the answer.

-.-.-

Heero stayed in his secluded spot, watching the cavalry getting ready for their journey. All of the soldiers had set on their mounts, but they didn't embark, as if waiting for someone.

That someone walked out of the castle, a dark-haired lady in a military uniform – their leader, he supposed. A hooded figure followed right after her, covered in a green cloak. But he didn't need to see her visage to know who the person was.

It was her.

His eyes were adhered to the figure instantly, as if making sure that it was really her. When she climbed up her saddle, the hood disclosed, revealing golden hair which glistened in the sunlight. She put it on quickly, but not before he had seen her face, making his heart tightened in his chest.

He didn't understand why he kept seeing the flashes from the dream. Like now, he saw images of her younger form, when she was here, real and living in front of his eyes. He saw her wearing a white dress and a flower crown, smiling at him, while the real her was clad in an uninteresting brown suit which didn't fit her well, wearing a tight face, not noticing his presence at all.

Quietly he wondered why seeing her went with the corps, leaving the castle, made him feel aloof.

He waited some minutes after the group had flared to the sky, before he went to trail them. He remembered he did the same back then. Just like when he found her in the other world, he followed her without thinking.

_Too many coincidences_, he thought.

And now he had to stick with her, to keep watch upon her. For just a little bit longer.

-.-.-

A crystal ball on the duke's desk glittered, transmitting a fade light which transformed into a person's form.

"Lady," the duke nodded to the image.

"My lord," smiled the figure, "Have you heard of the situation?"

"Yes, Noin came to tell me," he said, "How bad is Dermail's rage?"

The lady coughed neatly, then whispered, "Actually, my lord, he is now here, behind my back."

Treize laughed, "Let me talk with him."

She complied, and the dim outline of a lady was replaced by a frame of a bearded man, which was wearing an outraged gaze.

"Treize, what have you done?"

"Well I think you should be happy, with the princess in our hands and all," he said calmly.

"You…," the man's face was red with anger, "Where is the princess now?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "I've sent her to Sanq."

"What?" and a set of colourful words were flying afterwards. "…with all lecherous nations hunting her, you should have her secured in the capital!"

"I've talked to her, but she refused the offer."

"Who tells you to _ask_?" the man scolded, "She is our surety, fool!"

"She isn't," he said amusedly, "She told me so."

His reply sent the old man to explode. Closing one eye at the outburst, a flick of the duke's fingers sent the noisy complaint mute. But of course the bearded man, who continued his grudge, didn't notice it. It was only when the man had almost finished talking, he turned the speaker on again.

Skillfully hiding his smile behind his intertwined hands, he said, "Don't you have to worry, everything will take place as we've planned."

Then after a few calming sentences, he disconnected the contact.

The old man was such a gruff. No wonder the oracle never told him anything, but sent to him instead. Pulling his drawer, he took out the crimson-sealed envelope. He better kept this little message a secret.

He put the letter on his desk, and immediately, green flame blazed up, burning the papers without damaging the wooden desk.

The last words which could be read from the letter were formed as a phrase.

…_**beware of the darkness…**_

And without anyone knew, the foreordained prophet was burnt to ashes.

-.-.-

End of Chapter Seven

~o~

**A/N : It is the imperfection which makes one's character beautiful.**

If it is the whimsical complexity in the characters which forces many fans away, it is the one credit which pulled authors to fall in love with them. Me included. That's what I love most about Gundam Wing. Well, I want to make the characters in my story as "in-character" as possible, the way they acted, the way they reacted to the changing situation. I do try. So dear readers, what do you think about the way I picture the characters?

* * *

As the journey slowly reaches its end, there isn't much time left. The boy is leaving… yet the princess may not want to let him go.

"_**From the start, I know that you are a person who soon is going to leave." **_

_**(Chapter Eight : Barrier)**_

What lays ahead their journey?


	9. Chapter Eight : Barrier

**Official Quote : **They don't have Gundams, they have wings.

**A/N : I just want to say sorry.**

It really has been too long, and so I can only apologize to you, dear readers, hoping that somehow you can find the heart to forgive this poor excuse of an author. I try to make amends in this one chapter, meaning it to be an apology offering. Especially for these wonderful people who have given me support : dearest Illico (I'm sorry it took so long), dear talkstoangels77 (*bows deeply*, just… sorry!), dear ArticTwilight (thank you for adding this story to your story alert), dear JasLine (dear… are you still there…?), dear XxHaku-Spirited-Away-RoseXxXx and dear PyscoticBladeKitty (thanks for adding _Wings_ to your favourite story list), dear Hitsugaya's GreenEyes (…sorry I'm so slow, hope you also like this one), dear Storms-winter (my latest reviewer, you encouraged me to continue… thank you!). This chapter may not be good enough, but I hope you can have little joy in reading it. Here we go!

_**Wings**_

_**-a Gundam Wing Fanfiction-**_

_Chapter Eight : Barrier_

~o~

**barrier** _n_ **1** obstruction, hindrance, impediment **2 **a limit or boundary of any kind **3** something that separates or holds apart.

* * *

_**~" Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people."~**_

_**

* * *

**_"Lady! M'lady!" a shouting voice, followed by rushing steps echoing through the stone hall.

The elegantly-dressed lady who was sitting in the salon threw a pointedly disapproving look across her desk. The officer stuttered under her gaze, immediately squared his shoulder and bowed to amend his manner.

"I'm sorry to disturb your work, M'lady," he said, "I have news."

She put down the papers in her hands, which were mostly the letters from the lords and other noblemen, all reprimanding similar topic : the newly-found princess of Sanq. The lady held the urge to sigh, dully wishing that it wasn't about the Dermail again.

"Go on," she said, thinking about a way to deal with the short-tempered duke.

"It is His Excellency, M'Lady," the unexpected sentences got her full attention instantly, "We've got a message that he is arriving this noon."

"…he is?" she whispered to herself, her burden suddenly lifting.

The officer stood uncomfortably at his spot, waiting for Her Ladyship's reply. It was after some awkward silence he initiated to ask. "…Lady?"

The lady regained her composure quickly, giving the man a nod, before ordering to prepare all the needed preparation for His Lordship's arrival. Then, after the officer withdrew, she stared out her window, quite impatient in waiting.

His Lordship, Treize Kushrenada, was finally returning to the capital.

-.-.-

It was a clear day, the beginning of their journey.

The sun was bright and daring, its rays touching wispy clouds as they sped along. Relena stayed on her saddle, quiet and almost unmoving, as the cavalry brought her farther and farther from the castle.

Turning from one last look of the land behind, she blinked against the strong wind, trying to focus on the view ahead. The expanse of sky, and nothing else but the light orange clouds : in wisps, clumps, and wads.

Flying away, drifting on the wind… what it felt like?

The feeling of flying, for all she had experienced, was amazing. The sense of wind touching bare skin, the changing glimpses of scenery that could only be seen as one passed along, gaining speed, sliding cross the air. The feeling was liberating, exciting, joyful.

Living in a world of many restrictions, despite of having her own set of wings, she had no freedom to fly. And she had thought happily, that in spite of anything, this travel was the chance she never had, the actualization of what she always longed to try.

To soar. To fly.

No matter whether nothing else came out of this.

Pushing down the uncertainty which is building in the back of her mind, she grasped onto her only sheer thought. And she held on.

-.-.-

The scowl on Duke Dermail's face fell in the end of the explanation of the plan.

The bearded duke opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again in his failing attempt to speak. Even she had to admit that his gaping looked peculiarly out of place on the duke's usually vicious countenance. Carefully maintaining her impassive expression, Lady Une took a glance to her side.

Her lord, Treize Kushrenada, sat calmly behind the desk, a confident smile plastered on his handsome face.

"I would like to hear your opinion, duke," he said, leaning slightly toward the conference table, "What do you think about this plan?"

The older man coughed deeply, covering up his shock, before answered. "It is… an interesting suggestion."

"It is, isn't it?" folding his arm, he touched his chin thoughtfully, "But there is one problem."

The duke threw him a curious stare. "What kind of problem?"

"Oh not that big of problem actually," he assured with a casual wave, "I'm just not quite sure how to present _our_ plan to the rest of Romefeller members. It is too… unsafe to be relayed indirectly, don't you think so?"

Noting the intentional use of the word "our" in her lord's persuasive voice, she wondered whether Duke Dermail was aware of it.

"We can arrange a meeting. Secretly of course."

From his nod and the serious expression on the duke's face, apparently he didn't notice it. Nor did he notice a flash of contented smirk which crossed the corner of her lord's lips.

"Precisely as you say," the young lord agreed, "With OZ's current position in Alliance, we can't afford to raise suspicion."

She listened the two noblemen conversed, watching how her lord pleasantly winning the difficult duke over, admiring his political brilliance.

And she was, once again, awed by him. Was there any other man who could take matters into his hands so smoothly?

-.-.-

She was sorry for ever wishing for the chance.

Relena had stopped trying to keep her hood at place, since the wind would persistently disclose the hood again as soon as she put it on her head. Instead she sat still, sparks of evening sunlight caught in her uncovered gold hair, illuminating her fair skin with a glow that warmed her. Twirling gaily, her long coat whirling in a graceful arc, caught in the breeze.

It was unfortunate that, unlike the appearance, the princess didn't feel very well.

Her mouth felt bitter, her head was spinning, and her stomach was flipping. Despite her best effort not to, she felt like she was about to throw up.

She experienced the longest record of flying in her life, yes, and definitely the worst air-sickness ever. And for the umpteenth time that day, she was sorry for ever wishing for the chance.

-.-.-

The sun was beginning to set when Lucrezia Noin caught a sight of the only girl in their military group. She was with two men, presumably had just come from filling their water containers at the nearest river bank. Noin watched the soldiers awkwardly took the containers from her hands, mumbling quick thanks, and then showed her a place to sit at the center of their camp.

She simpered. Her subordinates was clearly unused to a lass's presence in their journey, moreover one with such high nobility, who apparently had a tendency to try to help.

Noin had just turned around when a gust of cold wind blew down the campsite and a tiny sneezing sound was heard from her back. The princess, who was now standing near the campfire, shivered a bit before sitting down, quietly resuming her interested observation at the rest of the group.

_Delicate and refined and unused to hardship._ Going to fetch a blanket, she pulled down an amused smile which was threatening to come out. _Yet not even a bit of complaint._

An unusual princess, definitely.

-.-.-

A fit of unfathomable worry seized her heart. Relena sighed, dropping her stare from the working soldiers around, feeling out of place.

She scooted closer to the fire, warming herself from the cold night. Trying to wear on nonchalant face, she contemplated all things which had happened these few days, and the possibilities which would happen the days ahead. What would happen after she arrived there? What should she do? Would she be welcomed, or be rejected, or even worse... be neglected?

Was she really not able to come home...?

Another shiver ran down her back, this time not because of the cold, but of fear. She prayed that all things would, by any chance, turn out well. She had to be strong. This journey was her decision after all.

Gleam of the fire reflected in her eyes as she took another minute to steel herself. She broke her muse however, when a call came from her side, and she found Miss Noin stood with a warm smile, offering her a cloth of blanket. "Cold?"

"A little," she answered, embarrassed for having been caught out.

She stood up, taking the cloth from Miss Noin's hand, thanking her. The corner of her eyes saw a sheave of twig hold by the lieutenant's other hand, and she unthinkingly asked, "May I help with that?"

The older woman went quiet, obviously didn't expect her question. Then she broke out a small grin and replied, "Sure. I don't see why not."

Inhaling a relief breath, a smile crossed her lips. She understood well that she didn't have a place here. For that reason, she felt that she had to find one.

-.-.-

One and a half day more from the kingdom of Sanq.

The only information he could get was about the destination of their journey, and in fact, he wanted to spy out more. But someone might notice his trail, he considered as he threw another look around, dragging his eyes from the cloaked figures. In order to maintain his safe hound, the proper procedure was to cop out.

So he withdrew to a further distance, watching the cavalry getting ready for the night. Until the darkness came to end the day.

He ensured the safety of his hiding spot, and closed his eyes.

A glimpse of a certain golden haired girl crossed his mind, though he purposely cleared it out.

He wouldn't dream tonight. Dreams of her were but a cold comfort when the flesh and the blood was but a few steps away.

-.-.-

"We shall separate here."

Three other figures in the shadow nodded in agreement.

"I'll take the House of Lords."

"Chateau du Brume Gris. I'm going to follow the duke."

"Guess the Alliance Base is my part then, hope I can find somethin' there," the long haired boy commented as he stood, "What about you?"

"I shall stay here," the last guy replied, his ever kind blue eyes darkened uncharacteristically, "I have a feeling that there is something more in Treize Kushrenada's plan."

-.-.-

_..._

_The calling, the calling._

_Don't you hear the call?_

_She has arrived, our dearest one, the princess has return to us._

_..._

-.-.-

After another full day of flying, she was happier than ever when the cavalry finally dove towards the ground.

Relena stared down expectantly as they gradually losing height, trying to get a clearer sight of the view of the land. She braced herself against the shock of their landing, taking Miss Noin's hand to get her down her mount.

Looking onward, she held her breath and asked, "Have we arrived?"

Miss Noin lowered her head a little and gave her a small smile. And she just stared.

It was a lonely place. A quiet field which was covered by thin mist, looking intimidating in its own way, raising worry in people' hearts. She couldn't believe that it was her homeland.

"There are still a few yards from the more populated region," the explanation snapped her attention back to Miss Noin, "We could spend the night here before heading there tomorrow, if you like."

She gazed afar, noticing the sunlight getting dimmer, darkening the land before her. In all truth, she was exhausted by their flight before, and the prospect of travelling in the dark night didn't sound much appealing. "I would prefer that."

The dark haired lieutenant nodded slightly, directing her troops towards a more closed area. And the princess stared out a little bit more, as if enchanted by the view, before turning to follow them.

-.-.-

Noin was surprised to find the princess staring idly at her when she walked into their shared tent. She was sitting on her mattress, her blanket wrapped around her shoulders, half hugging her knees.

"Miss Noin," she greeted, lifting her head.

She examined her, the girl was now continuing her seemingly blank stare at the tent's entrance. Following her eyes, she stared too, trying to find something different outside. She didn't find it though. For all she saw with her eyes, there were only empty field covered in slight mist and a group of trees at the furthermost.

Wondering what had caught her attention so much, she questioned, "What are you seeing?"

She squinted a little, "...nothing," giving up her stare, she added with a smile, "Just my feeling."

Noin gave her a confused look, then smiled back. She walked to the center of their tent to dim the lantern and the princess lied back on her mattress. She just pulled off her boots when she was called again, "...miss Noin?"

Putting her military boots aside, she saw her tilting her neck to her, "Yes?"

"Do you...," she hesitated, "...hear something?"

She listened curiously for a while, "No. Just sound of wind. Why?"

Her face fell then, and she shook her head before waving her off with a funny smile, "Oh well, don't mind me."

Failing to comprehend her conduct, Noin just wondered what was wrong with the girl.

-.-.-

After tomorrow, his mission of trailing her would be accomplished.

He couldn't understand why he felt discomforted by the thought. He should be happy. This job was, although important in its own way, too mundane. In simpler words, it was more or less... boring. He had a better mission.

The elders had informed him of the development in the Capital. He would send his final report of this journey, asking for a new job. They would assign him to a different place, predictably joining his comrades in the Capital, he would have to set off immediately.

And he would never see her again.

_Why...,_ he jerked with a start,_ What am I thinking about?_

Annoyed with his thought, he jumped off the tree he had been sitting these past hours. He'd better clear his mind. Consciously pulling his gaze from the tent, Heero walked to the opposite direction from the campsite. He would come back later.

She was still going to be there tomorrow anyway.

-.-.-

She curled on her mattress, telling herself to sleep.

Laying down with half closed lids, she idly estimated how many minutes had passed. Almost an hour, at the most. From the silence of their tent, she guessed Miss Noin had been asleep. It was no wonder actually, they both had a tiring day.

Why she hadn't fallen asleep yet?

Wrapping her blanket tighter, Relena tried to blank her mind. As Miss Noin had said, there was nothing. The sound and the light had to be her imagination. She had to rest.

Satisfied with her resolution, Relena closed her eyes and willed her exhaustion bring her to sleep.

-.-.-

The most impossible fantasy it was, what he had stumbled upon. His very one reverie.

Stopping dead in his track, he froze in his stare. It was dark, for it had been long since the sun set, and sound of the wind was the only sound heard in the silent night. He was certain that the group in his watch was sleeping. They had to be.

He had, apparently, dreamed too much.

_I can't let myself have these weird delusions._

Shaking his head, Heero tried to reprimand the supposedly imaginative figurine out of his sight.

_Not when I know that it is no longer true._

-.-.-

She thought she was dreaming again that night.

Heavy mist covered her senses, and she barely acknowledged her surroundings. Vaguely she managed to make out the outlines of the trees from the darkness behind. She felt she recognized the view somehow.

Was it a light glowing in the midst of the trees?

She touched the path of light with her toes, surprised to find herself floating, not touching the ground below. And again, she tried to decipher the overwhelming familiar feeling which was pining at her heart.

Something was calling out to her…

-.-.-

Awakened from her sleep, Noin blinked in the dim lightning of her canvas tent. Waiting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she spared a glance to the messy bundle of cloth at her side.

Then she let out a gasp.

"…princess?"

-.-.-

By the time he realized that it was not one of his illusions, she had been far into the night.

Heero ran, laboring his lungs in attempt to catch glimpse of her shadow, which almost lost in the exuberance of the forest. The one in his trail just went farther, slipping effortlessly through the maze of wood, seemed unaffected by the diminishing light.

Giving all his might not to let her lost from his sight, he groused in his dismay, at the girl, at the indolent guards in duty, and at himself.

-.-.-

Holding her step, she realized that she was no longer stand among the trees.

Before her was an open field, starless sky above clouds of heavy mist. There was no place to stand on, no ground to place her footing. And when she stared, slight glow came from under the mist, flickering in a rhythmic pattern. A glow which she thought looked brighter by each gleam.

It was like standing on the edge of the world, like being called into heaven.

A zephyr brought wisp of the white mist to touch her face, and she shuddered from its coldness.

And somewhere in her entranced mind, Relena thought this one dream felt more realistic than ever.

-.-.-

Heero Yuy didn't scream.

He might have done it though, if only his breath didn't catch in his throat, seeing the golden haired girl in front of him walk onto the mist. And disappear into the depths below.

It felt like the world froze, the time stood still…

Then one second later his logical mind returned, and the strong, numbing sensation of unbelievable fear ebbed away. He was foolish for being scared.

Hurriedly he ran over, peering over the cliff, searching for a sight of white wings. Just to be stunned again by the sight he saw.

She didn't fall. Correction, she did float down. Yet it seemed that the land below her moved up towards her, accommodating her fall. Relief washed through him when she landed safely on the ground, before quickly being replaced by mesmerization.

It was not ground on her feet. It was an illuminating path of crystal, formed by streaks of sparkling dust – tiny fragments of stone which was rising to live, buoying through the mist. Faint light spread throughout the field, and the magical dust drawn together, blithely twirling around their princess.

He watched her shone in the absolute darkness, like a fictitious living being which never existed in any world. And the boy, who was standing on the shadowy edge of the shining ground, felt that he had been left out.

-.-.-

There were other people at the other side of the field, who shared the same view. An entire castle was rebuilding in front of their own eyes.

The cavalry, in search of the princess, had entered the debris of palatial court. And they found her, exactly at that place, in her way to the very throne, the palace of Sanq.

The old, sacred land of magic was apparently welcoming her precious princess. They were struck by the display, dazed, amazed, too astounded to advance further.

The sight too, made any doubts left in Noin's heart cease to exist. Lord Treize, with his incomprehendable ways, had brought back the true princess. Her Royal Highness, Princess Relena Peacecraft of Sanq.

-.-.-

End of Chapter Eight

~o~

**A/N : I revised this chapter! Around four thousand words now. Still shorter than before, though.**

None the less, this is all I've got for the time being, and I will be grateful if you appreciate it. I also want to apologize that I can't promise immediate installment of the next chapter – for I soon will be busy again. But I've had imaginary, rough draft. And here it is.

* * *

It is the end of their journey. Will it also mean the end of their togetherness?

_**~"Both of them were haunted by strange encounters. It was him, who realized the need to withdraw."~**_

_**(Chapter Nine : Proxy)**_

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for you all. Thank you for reading!


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